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Solemn Warning^ of the Dead 

OR, AN 

ADMONITION 

TO 

UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 

By Mr. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 

^ AND, A 

C A ]L IL 

TO THE 

UNCONVERTED- 

By Mr. RICHARD BAXTER. 

HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH. HEB. Xl. 4. 



NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHEn BY DANIEL HITT, FOR THE METHODIST 
CONNECTION IN THE UNI'f'ED STATES. 

J, C. Totten, printer. 



181 L 



1 






AJf 



AD MO NIT ION 



TO 



Unconverted Sinners; 



IN A 



SERIOUS TREATISE 



SHEWING 



I. What Conversion is 

not, and correcting 
some mistakes about 
it. 

II. What Conversion is, 
and wherein it con- 
sisteth. 

III. The Necessity of 
Conversion. 



IV. 



The Marks of the 
Unconverted. 
The Miseries of the 
Unconverted. 
Directions for Con- 
version. 
VII. Motives for Con- 
version. 



V. 



VI. 



By JOSEPH ALLETYE, 

Late Minister of the Gospel, at Taunton in Somcj:» 
setshire. 



TO THE READER. 



Readeb, 

X ()U are here fir csentedirit h a booky iv/iich was torit' 
ten many years before the name of Methodism was 
known in the world ; which it may be firofier to remind 
you of in order to remove any unreasonable prejudice 
arising fropi that quarter. What I would recommend 
to you isi to read it with attention, exawijiation, and 
Jirayer^ as the most effectual method you can take to ren- 
der it a blessing to your ow7i soul. The author seems 
to have made use of every possible argument to win 
upon yo7ir ingenuity, to awaken conscience f and to di" 
rect you into the way everlasting, 

I charge you, as in the presence of the living Gcd, 
now to do your part, jznd give it a faithful reading: I 
beg of you, by every endearing motive of love and af^ 
fection to your precious and immortal soul, that you will 
look upon this book as calculated to promote your pre- 
sent and everlasting happiness ; and I beg of God that ha 
would be filcased so to accompany your reading of it 
with his divine and heavenly grace, as to afford you mat' 
terrf thajiksgiving, gratitude, and praise to his holy 
name, for ever and ever. 

Many by nature and firactice, is a sinner before God /. 
a charge of guilt is fastened upon him : thisy in words t 
he readily' acknowledges ; but being blinded %vith pir cm- 
dice, and having wrong conceptions both of the nature cf 
God and sin, he flatters himself that all will be well at 
ijusty and that a merciful God will not finully condemn.- 
A3 



VI " TO THE READBE. 

him ; this lulls him asleep, in Satan* s armsyond makes him 
secure and easy under all the denunciations of God* s 
ivrath against him. 

One grand design of the author in this botk is, to dis' 
pel that gross darkness, to rectify those false conceptions 
he Itas of God and sin, and to convince him that notivith' 
standing all his vain pretensions, ivithout true repent- 
ance, the sentence ofivrath stands infull force against 
himstilL 

Jesus Christ is set forth in scripture as the Saviour of 
sinners, the helper of the helpless s the only sure bottom 
lipon ivhich man is to anchor the hope of eternal salvation. 
To this Lord and Saviour is the anvakened sinner direct- 
ed in this botk : a free and a full salvation is offered him 
imder every possible assurance, that if he closes with it, 
his sins shall be pardoned, his person and future services 
accepted ; and., from being a brand of hell, he shall bC" 
come an heir of eternal glory. 

Reader, the former character either is or has been 
thine own : if it is thine at this present reading, remem- 
iter thy danger ; take the alarm, and flee from the wrath 
to come : If it has been thine formerly, and thou art 
truly converted to God by Jesus Christ, give h' /i all the 
glory, rejoice in the happy exchange, walk worthy of 
thy high calling J and thou art made forever. 

ThyTeady servant in the LORD. 



AN 

ADMONITION 

TO 



Unconverted Siniiers^ &c. 



An earnest Invitation to Sinners to return to ,God, i7i 
order to their eternal Salvaaon. 

DEARLY beloved and longed-for J gladly acknow- 
ledge myself a debtor to you all, and am con- 
cerned, as I would be found a good steward to the hous- 
hold of God, to give to every one his portion ; but the 
physician is most solicitous for those patients, wh,ose 
case is most doubtful and hazardous; aYid the father's 
bowels arc especially turned towards his dying child. 
The numbers of unconverted souls among you, call 
for my most earnest compassion and hasty diligence 
to pluck them out of the burning, Jude 23. And there- 
fore to these first I shall apply myself in these lines. 

But whence shall I fetch my argument ? or how 
shall I choose my words I Lord, wherewith shall I woo 
them ? wherewith shall I win them ? O that I could 
but tell ! I would write unto them in tears, I would 
weep out every argument, I would empty my veins 
for ink, I would petition them on my knees, verily 
(were I able) I would : O how. thankful would I be if 
they would be prevailed with to repent and turn ! 

" But, Lord, how insufiicient am I for this work : 
I have been many a year wooing for thee, but the 
damsel would not go with me : Lord, what a task 
hast thou set me to do ! Alas, wherewith shall I 
pierce the scales of Leviathan, or make the heart to 
feel that's hard as stone, hard as a piece of nether 
millstone ! Shall I go and lay my mouth to the 
^rave, and look when the dettd will obey me and 



8 An Invitation to Sinners 

come forth ? Shall I make an oration to the rocks^ 
or declaim to the mountains, and think to move 
them with arguments? Shall I give the blind to 
S'je ? From the beginning of the world was it not 
heard that a man opened the eyes of the blind ; but 
thou, O Lord, canst pierce the scales and prick the 
heart of the sinner : I can but shoot at rovers, and 
draw the bow at a venture, but do thou direct the 
arrow between the joints of the harness, kill the sin, 
and save the soul of a sinner that casts his eyes 
on these labours.'* 

Brethren, I beseech you suffer friendly plainness 
and freedom with you in your deepest concernments. 
I am not playing the orator, to make a learned speech 
tjo you, nor dressing my dish with eloquence where- 
Vy'ith to please you ; these lines are upon a weighty 
errand indeed, namely, to convince and convert, and 
to save you. I am not baiting my hook with rhetoric, 
nor fishing for your applause, but for your souls. My 
work is not to please you. but to save you ; nor is my 
business with your fancies, but your hearts : If I have 
not your hearts, I have nothing. If I were to please 
your ears I could sing another song : If I were to 
preach myself I would steer another course ; I could 
then tell you a smoother tale ; I would make you pil- 
lows, and speak you peace ; for how can Ahab love his 
Michaiahi that "always prophesies evil concerning 
him ?" I Kings xxii. 8. But how much *' better are 
the wounds of a friend than the fair speeches of an 
harlot whoflattereth, with her lips, till the dart strike 
through the liver, and hunteth for the precious life ?** 
FrGv,\i\. 21, 22,23 and vi. 16. If I were to quiet 
a crying infant, I night sing to him a pleasant song, 
and rock him asleep ! but when the child is fallen inio 
the fire, the parent takes another course i he will r-ot 
go to still him with a song or a trifle. I know, if we 
speed not with you, you are lost ; if we cannot get 
your consent to ''arise and come away,'* you perish 
for ever: No conversion, and no salvation: I must 
get your good-will or leave you miserable. 

But here the difficulty of ipy work again recurs up* 



To return to God. 9 

on me, " Lord, choose my stones out of the brook,"'^ 
1 Sam. xvii. 40, 45. "I come jn the name of the Lord 
of hosts, the God of the armies of IsraeV* I come 
forth like the stripling David., to wrestle, "not with 
flesh and blood; but with principalities and powers, 
and rulers of the darkness of this world,'* Eph. vi, 
12. This day let the Lord smite the Philistine, and 
spoil the strong man of his armour, and give me 
to fetch off the captives out of his hand :'* Lord, 
choose my words, choose my weapons for me ; and 
when I put my hand into the bag, and take thence a 
stone and sling it, do thou carry it, to the mark, and 
make it sink, not into the forehead, 1 Sam. xvii. 49. 
but the heart of the unconverted sinner, and smite 
him to the ground, with Saul in his so happy fall," 
Acts. ix. 4'. Thou hast sent me as Abraham did his 
servant, " to take a wife unto my master, thy Son,'* 
Gen. xxiv. 4. hutmy discouraged soul is ready to fear 
*' the woman will not be willing to follow me : O L©rcl 
God of my master, I pray thee send me good speed 
this day, and shew kindness to my master, and send 
thine angel before, and prosper my way, that I 
may take a wife unto thy Son," Gen. xxiv. 12. that 
as thy servant *•• rested not till he had brought Isaac 
and Rebecca together, so I may be successful to bring 
Christ and the souls of my people together before 
we part." 

But I turn me unto you. Some of you do not know 
what I mean by Conversion^ and in vain shall I persuade 
you to that which you do not understand ; and there- 
fore for your sakes I shall-shew what this Conversion is. 
Others do cherish secret hopes of mercy, though they 
continue as they are ; and for them I n-.ust shew the 
JVecesfiity of Conversion. Others are like to harden 
themselves v/ith a vain conceit that they are convert- 
ed already; unto them I must shew the marks of the 
Unconverted. Others>ecause they feel no harm, fear 
none, 'and so sleep on the top of the mast; to them 
I shall shew the miseries of the Unconverted. Others 
sit still, because they see not thiir way out ; to tliem 
I shall shew the Means of Conversion, And finally, for 



10 Mistakes about Conversion. 

the quickening of all) I shall close with the Motives of 

Conversion. 



CHAP. I. 

Shewing in the J^egati-ue what Conversion is not, and ( 
correcting' some mistakes about it. 

LET the blind Samaritans worship they know not 
what, ycAniv. 22. let the heathen Athenians %n- 
perscribs their altar, " Unto the unknown God," Jcta 
xvli. 23, they that know man*s constitution, and the 
nature of the human soul's operation, cannot but know 
that the understanding having the empire in the soul, 
he that will go rationally to work, muit labour to let 
in the light here. Now that I may cure the mistakes 
of some, who think they are converted when they are 
not, as well as remove the troubles and fears of others, 
that think they are not converted when they are ; I 
shall shew you. the nattare of conversion, both nega- 
tively, or what it is not ; and positively what it is. 
We will begin with the Negative. 
I. "It is not the taking upon us the profession of 
Christianity." Doubtless Christianity is mere than a 
name. If we will hear Paw/, it lies not in word, but in 
power, I Cor. iv. 20. If to cease to be Jrws and Pa- 
gans and to put on the Christian profession, had been 
true conversion, vvho lietter Christians than they o^Sar- 
dis and Laodicea ? These were all Christians by pro- 
fession, and had a name to live ; but because thf-y had 
but a name, are condemned by Christ, and threaten- 
ed to be spesvid out, i^cx;. iii. 1,16. Ar^, there not ma- 
ny that Hie tion the name of the Lord .IksuS; and yet 
depart not from iniquity ? 2 Tim.Yi. 19. and "profess 
they kno .V Go'l. but in works they deny him 1'* Titus 
i. I 6. And -vill God receive these for true converts, be- 
cause turned ^o the Christian religion? What! con- 
verts fro'n sin. when yet thev do live in sin ? it is vis- 
ible contradiction, burely if the lamp of profession 



Mistakes ahout Conversiok. 1 1 

V/Ouldhave served the turn, the foolih virgins had ne- 
ver been shut out Mat. xxv. 12. We find not only pro- 
fessors, but preachers of Christ, and "\vonder-v.ork- 
crs, turned off because evil-workers. Matt vii. 22, 23. 

2. "It is not the being washed in the laver of rege- 
neration, or putting on the badge of Christ in bap- 
tism." Many take the press-money, and wear the liv- 
ery of Chkist, that yet never stand to their colors, 
nor follow their leader. Anncniasr and Scpphirc^ and 
Magufi, v;ere baptized as well as the rest. 

Friends and brethren, " Be not deceived, God is not 
mocked," Gal ^l. 7. Whether it be your baptism, 
or whatever else that you pretend, I tell you from the 
living God, that if any of you be praycrless persons, 
or unclean, or malicious, or covetous or riotous, or a 
scoffer, or a lover of evil company, Prov. xiii. 20. in a 
word, if you are not holy, strict and selt-denying 
Christians, Heb. xii. 14. Matt. xvi. 24. you cannov be 
saved, except you be transformed by a further work 
upon you, and renewed again by repentance. 

3. *• It lies not in a moral righteousness." This ex- 
ceeds not the righteousness of the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, and therefore cannot bring us to the kingdom of 
God, Matt. V. 20. Pow/ while unconverted, ** touching 
thw righteousness which is in the law was blam.e- 
less " Phil iii. 6. None could say, " black is thine 
eye." The self-justiciary could say, *' I am no extor- 
tioner, adulterer, unjust, kc. Luke yi\\\\. 11. Thou 
must have something more than all this to shew, or 
else however thou may est justify thyself, God will 
condemn thee. I condemn net morality, but warn 
you not to rest here ; piety includes morality, as 
Christianity doth humanity, and grace reason ; but we 
must not divide the tables. 

4. " It consists not in an external conformity to the 
rules of piety." It is too manifest mtn may have a 
form of godliness without the power, 2 Tim, iii. 5. 
Men may pray long. Matt, xxiii 14. and" fast often, 
Luke xviii. 12. and hear gladly, Mark vi. 2. and be ve- 
ry forward in the service of God. though cosily and 
exj)ensive, Imiah i. 1 1, and yet be strangers to Ccrz- 



1^ Mistakes about Conversiok. 

version. They must have more to plead for thera- 
selvesi than that they keep their churph, give alms, 
and make use of prayer, to prove themselves sound 
converts. No outward service but a hypocrite may 
do it, even to the *' giving all his goods to feed the 
poor, and his members to the fire." 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 

5. ' II Wt'i not in the chainingup of corruption by 
education, numan laws, or the force of incumbent af- 
fliction.'* It is too common and easy to mistake edu- 
catioK for grace; but if this were enough, whoa bet- 
ter m:in that Jchoam ? While Sthoiadab his uncle liv- 
ed, he was very forward in God's service, and calls 
upon him to repair the house of the Lord, 2 Kings xii. 
2, 7 but here was nothing more than good education 
all this while : for when his good tutor was taken out 
of the way he appears to have been but a wolf chained 
up, ai;id falls to idolatry. 

6. In short, ' It consists not in illumination or con- 
viction, not in a superficial change or partial refor- 
mation." Felix may tremble under conviction. Acts 
xxiv, 25. and a Htrod amend many things, Mark vi. 
20. It is one thing to have sin alarmed only by con- 
victions, and another to be captivated and crucified by 
converting grace. Many, because they have been 
troubled in conscience for their sins, think well of 
their case, miserably mistaking conviction for con- 
version : With these Cain might have passed for a 
convert, who ran up and down the world like a man 
distracted, under the rage of a guilty conscience, till 
with building and business he bad worn it away. Gen, 
iv. 1 3, 14. Others think, that because they have given 
over their riotous courses, and are broken off from 
evil company, or some particular lust, and i educed to 
sobriety and civility, they are now no other than reaJ 
converts : forgetting that there is a vast difference be- 
tween being sanctified and civilized : and that many- 
seek to enter ihto the kingdom of heaven, Luke xrii 24, 
and are not far from it," Mark xii. 34. and arrive to 
the a/mo5if of Christianity, ^c^s xxvi. 28. and yeifall short 
at last. Whiht conscience holds the whip over th'^tm, 
many will pray, hear, read, ai^d forbear their delightful 



Mistakes about Convers i on. 1 o 

sins ; but no sooner is the lion asleep, than they are at 
their vomit again. — Whomore religious than the Jews, 
when God's hand was upon them ; Psalm \y.y.\m. 34, 
35. yet no sooner was the affliction over, but they for- 
got God, and shewed their religion to be a fit, ver. 36, 
37. Thou mayest have disgorged a troublesome sin, 
that will not sit easy on thy stomach, and yet not have 
changed thy swinish nature all the while. 

You may cast the lead out of the rude mass into the 
more comely proportion of a plant, and then into the 
shape of a beast, and thence into the form and features 
of a man, yet all the while it is but lead still : so a man 
may pass through diverse transmutations, from igno- 
rance to knowledge, from profaneness to civility, thence 
to a form of religion ; and all this while he is but carnal 
and unregenerate, whilst his nature remains unchanged. 

Application. "Hear then, O sinners, hear as you 
would live, so come and hear," Zsa.lv. 3. Why would 
you so willingly deceive yourselves, orbuild yourhopcis 
upon the sand ? I know he shall find hard work of it th::l 
goes to pluck away your hopes ; it cannot but be uii- 
gro.teful to you, and truly it is not pleasing to me. I set 
about it as a surgeon when to cut off a putrified member 
from his well beloved friend, which of force he must do, 
though with an aching heart, a pitiful eye, and a trcnib- 
ling hand. But understand me, brethren, I am only 
takmg down the ruinous house (which will otherwise 
speedily fall of itself, and bury you in the rubbish) that I 
may build it fair, firtn and strong for ever. "The hope 
of the hypocrite shall perish,'* Prov. xi. 7. if God be 
true to his word. And hadst not thou better, O sinner, 
to let the v/ord convince thee now in time, and let go tl\y 
false and seir-deluding hopes, than have death too h",t(i 
to open bhine eyes, and find thyself in hell 1 e'.ore iho»i 
art aware ? I sh^^uld be a false and faithless shepherd, if i 
could not tell you, that you, who h-ave built your hopes 
upon no better ground than these before menticnec!, 
are y^t in your sins. Let 70ur conscience speak ; what 
is it the!' you have to plead for yourselves ! Is it that yon 
wearCHRisT's livery? thatyou bearhisname? t!;at vou 
ars of the visible church ? that you have knowledge ii-i 
B 



14 Mistakes about Conversion. 

the poin'sof religion,arecivilized. perform reiigiousdu- - 
urs,are just in your dealings, have been troubled in con- 
science for your sins ? - 1 tell you from the Lord, these 
pleas vill never be accepted at God's bar ; all this, 
lhoup;li good in itself, will not prove you convened and 
so will not suffice to your salvation. O! Look about you, 
andbothinkyoursclvesofreturning speedily and sound- 
ly. Set to praying, and to reading, and studying your 
own hearts : rest not till God hath made thorough work 
%viihyou; for ye must be other men, or else are lost men. 
But iftljesebe short of conversion, what shull I say of 
the prophane sinner? It-may be. he will scarce cast his 
eye or lend his ear to this discourse 1 but if there be any 
such reading, or within hearing, he must know from the 
LoHD that made him, that he is far from the kingdom 
of God. May a man be civilized and not converted ; 
where then shall the drunkard and gluiton appear ? 
May a man keep company with the wise virgins, and 
yet be shut out; shall not " a companion of fools much 
more be destroyed ? Prov. xiii. 20. May a man be 
true and just in his dealings, and yet not be justified of 
God ! whii: then will become of thee, O wretched man, 
■whose conscience tells thee thou art false in thy trade, 
and false tO/ thy word, and makest thy advantage by a 
lying tongue ? If men may be enlightened and brought 
to the performance of holy duties, and yet go down to 
perdition for resting in them, and sitting down on this 
side of conversion ; what will become cf you, O mise- 
rable families, that live without God in the world ? and 
of you. O wretched sinners, with whom God is scan e 
in all your thoughts ; that are so ignorant that ycu 
cannot, or so careless that yo\i will not pray ? O repent 
and be converted; ''break off your sins by righteous- 
ness," away to Christ for pardoning and renewing 
*jrace ; give un yourselves to him, to walk with him in 
holiness ; or else you shall never see God. O that you 
would take the warnings of God! In his name I once 
more admonish you : '• Turn you at my reproof," Prov. 
i. 23. "Forsake the foolish, and live," Prov. \x 6. 
"Be sober, righteous, godly." 77^ ii. 12. "Wash 
yQ\ix hands, ye sinners ; purify your hearts, ye dou- 



The Nature ^Conversion. 15 n 

ble-minded/* James iv. 8. "Cease to do evil, learn 
to do well,** Isa. i 1 6, 1 7. " But if you will ijo on, you 
must die,'* Ezek. xxxiii. 1 1 . 

CHAP. IT. 

Shelving fiositivcly what Confersion is, 

T MAY not leave you with your eyes half open, as he 
X " that saw men as trees walking : " Mark viii. 
24. The word is, ''profitable for dociiine as well as 
reproof,'* 2 Ti?n. iii. 16. And therefore, bavins^ thu;i 
far conducted you by the shelves and rocks of so nvany 
dangerous mistakes, I would guide you at length into 
the harbour of truth. 

Conversion then, in short, lies in the thorough 
change both of the heart and life : I shall briefly des- 
cribe it in ils nature and causes. 

I. "The author is the Spiiit of God :'* and therefore 
it is called th'e sanctification of the Spirit," 2"'rhess. ii. 
13, and ''the renewing of the Holy Ghost," Tii.'ui. 5. 
yet not excluding the other persons in the Trinity ; for 
the Apostle leacheth us to bless " the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, for that he hath begotten us 
again,** 1 Pet.'i 3. and Christ is said to give " repen- 
tance unto Israel,** ^cts. v. 31. and is called '• ihe Ev- 
erlasting Father,'* /*a.ix. 6. and we his seed, and "the 
children which God hath given him,'* Hc5. ii. 1 3. Isa, 
liii. 10. O blessed birth, the whole Triniiy fathers the 
new creature ; yet this work is principally asci ibed to 
the Holy Ghost, and so we are suid to be '• bo!n of the 
Spirit,'* John iii. 8. 

So then it is a work above man's power : " We are 
born, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
but of God,** Joh7i i. 1 3. Never think thou canst con- 
vert thyself; ifever thou wouldst be savingly converted, 
thou must despair of doing it in thy own strength. It 
is a ressurrection from the dead, Rev. xx. 5. Efihea. ii. 
1. a new creation, Gal, vi. 15. Ejihes. ii. 10. a work 
of absolute omnipotence, -£y^//f.9. i. 19. Are these out 
of the reach of human power? If thou hast no more 
than thou hadslby the first birih,a good natui;e,a jn^'^^V 



16 The nature of CosYBRsio^. 

and chaste temper, &c. ihou art a very stranger to true 
conversion : this is a supernatural work. 

2. "The moving cause is internal and external. The 
internal mover is only free grace." Not by works of 
righteousness which we have doncjbut of his own mercy 
he saved us, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost," 
Tiiusin. 5. " Of his own will begat he us," ^awf^i. 18. 
We are chosen and called unto sanctificaiion. Eph. i. 4. 

How affectionately doth Feter lift up his hands ! 
" B!es':,-^d be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who 
of i)is abundant mercy haih begotten us again," 1 Pet. i. 
3. How feelinp^ly doth Paul magnify the free mercy of 
God in it ! " God who is rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he lovedu5,hath quickened us together 
w ith CiinisT : by grace ye are saved ;" Ej.hcs. ii. 4, 5. 

*' The external n^.over is the merit and intercession of 
the blessed Jesus." " He hath obtained gifts for the 
rebellious." PW/w Ixviii. 18. and through him it is 
.that God worketh in usr what is well-pleasing in his 
vight, Heb. xiii. 21. Through him arc all spiritual 
blessings bestowed upon us in heavenly things, ii/?Af5. 
i. 3, He interceded for them that believed not, John 
xvii. 20. Every convert is the fruit of his travail, Isa. 
•iiii. 11. O never was infant born into the world wiih 
tJiat difficulty that Christ endured for us ! How em- 
phatically he groaned in his travail ! All the pains that 
he suffered on his cross, they were our birth-pains. Acts 
ii. 2 i " ordinas'* the pulls and threes that Christ en- 
dured for us. He is made sanctification to us, i Cor. 
i. 30. He sanctified himself, (that is. set apart him- 
self as a sacrifice) that we may be sanctified. John xvii. 
19. We are sanctified '* through the oUcring of his 
body once for all," Htb. x. '0, 

3. ''The instrument is either personal or real." 
The personal is the ministry. ** I have begotten you 
ImChrist through the gospel," \Cor.i\. 15. Christ's 
ministers are they that are sent to open men*s eyes, 
and to turn them to God, Acts xxvi. 18 

" The instrument real is the word." We were begot- 
ten by the word of truth : this is it that enlightens the 
eye, that converteth the soul,P.sa/m xix. 7. 8. that m.ak- 
eihwisc tosalvalion; 2 Tlm.in. 15. This is the incorriip- 



The Nature r/' Conversion. 1? 

tible seed by which we are born again, Pet. i. 23. \i 
we are washed, it is by the word, Efihea. v. 26. If we 
are sanctified it is through the truth, John xvii. 17. 
Tliis generates faith, and regenerates us, Rorn, x. 17. 
James \. 18. 

O ye saint?, how should ye love the word ! for by tliis 
ye have been converted. O ye sinners, how should ye 
ply the word I for Uy this you must be converted ; no 
other ordinary means but this. You that have felt its re- 
newing power,make much of it while you live,be forever 
thankful for it; tie it about, your necks, write it upon 
your hands, lay it in your bosoms, -Proi;. vi. 21,22. 
When you golelitlead you; when you sleep let itkeep 
you; when you wake, let it talk wiih you. Say with 
iioly David '•! will never forget thy precepts, for with 
them thou hast quickened me." Faalm cxix. 93. You 
that are unconverted, read the word wiih diligence, flock 
to it where powerfully [ireached, fill the porches as the 
multitude of the impotent, bUnd, hah, withered, wailing 
for the moving of the water, John v. 3. Pray for the 
coming of the spirit in the word : Come off thy knees 
to the Sermon, and come io thy knees from the Ser- 
mon. The seed doth net prosper, because not water- 
ed by prayers and tears, nor covered by meditation. 

4. ''The final cause is man's salvation, and God's 
glory.** We arechoscn through sanctification to salva- 
tion, 2 7/K'.s.<f.ii. IS. called that we might be glorified, 
Rom. viii. 30. but especially that God njight be glori- 
fied, I&a. Ix. 21. that we should shew forth his pmise, 
1 I^e'. ii. 9. and be fruitful in good works. Col. i. 10. 
O Christian ! do not forget the end of thy calling ; let 
thy light sliine, Matt. v. 16. let^thy lamp bum. let thy 
fruits be good, and many, and in season, /^6i^/w i. 3. 
let all thy designs fall in with God's, that he may be 
magnified in thee, Phil. i. 10. 

5. "The subject is the true believer, and that in all 
his parts and powers, members and mind." Conver- 
sion is no repairing of the old building : but it takes all 
down and erects a new structure. It is not the putting 
in a p?.tch, or sewing on a list of hcliness : but, with 
the true convert; hcliness is woven in iill his powers, 

■ ' B 2 . 



1 3 The Nature of Conversion . 

principles, and practice. The sincere Chrisiian is quite 
a new fabrick, from the foundation to the top stone all 
new. He is a new man, Jbyphcs. iv. 24 a new creature. 
" All things are become new," 2 Cor. v. 17. Conver- 
sion is a deep work, a heart work, Jets ii. 37. and vi. 
14. it turns all upside down, and makes a man be in a 
new world. It goes throughout with men, throughout 
the mind, throughout the members, throughout the 
motions of the whole life. 

1. '* Throughout the mind." It makes an universal 
change within. Fiiat it turns the balance of the judg- 
ment, so that God and his glory do weigh down all carnal 
and worldly interest, jicts xx. 24. Phil. i. 20. Psalm 
Jxxiii. 25. It opens the eye of the mind, and makes the 
scales of its native ignorance to fall off, and " turns men 
from darkness to light," ^7c;* xxvi. 18. Ephes'm. 8. 
I Pet. ii. 2. The man that before saw no danger in his 
'ondilion, now concludes himself lost, and forever un- 
done, ./:/c^5ii. 37. except renev/ed by the power of grace. 
He that formerly thought there was little hurt in sin, 
now comes to see it to be the chief of evils : he sees the 
unreasonablcnes, the unrighteousness, the deforn iiy 
und filtliiness that is in sin, so that he is afiVighted with 
it, loathes it, dreads it, flees it, and even abhors himself 
ibr it, Rom. vii. 18. Job xlii. 6. JLzck. xxxvi. 31. 

Now, according to this new light, the man is of ano- 
ther mind, another judgmeiu than before he was : now 
God is all with him, lie hath none " in heaven or on earth 
like him," Psalm Ixxiii. 2 5. He prefers him truly be- 
fore all the world ; his favour is his life, the ligiu of his 
countenance is more than corn,or wine and oil, the good 
ihat formerly he enquired after," and set his heart upcn, 
Psalm iv. 6,7. This is the convenes voice ; "The Lord 
is my portion, saiih my soul ; whom have I in heaven 
but thee ? And there is none upon earth that I desire 
besides thee. Gcd is the strength of my heart and my 
portion for ever," -/-"iaMi Ixxiii. 25,26. Lam. iii. 24. 

Secondly, " It turns the bias of the will, both as to 
means and end." 1 " The intentions of the will are al- 
lered," -£z6;t. xxxvi. 26. /cr. xxvi 33. Zsa. xxvi. 8,9. 
Now the man hath new ends and designs : now he in* 



The Nature of Cox\ eroIOx. 1 ?. 

tends God above all, and desires and des«igns nciiiing 
in all the world so much as that Chiisi may be n agni- 
. Tied in him, Phil i. 20. He counis himself more happy 
in this, than in all that the earth couid yield, tlK\t ho 
may he serviceable to Christ, and bring him glory in his 
t^eneraiion. This is the mark he aims at, tliat the name 
of Jesus may be great in the world; and that all the 
sheaves of his brethren may bow to his sheaf, Gen. 
xxxvii. 7. 

Reader. Dost thou view this, and never ask thyself, 
whether it be thus with thee ? Pauhe a while, and 
breathe on this great concernment. 

2. *' The choice is also changed)" so that he choos- 
eth another way, P^a//;i cxix. 15. He pitcheth iipow 
God as his blessedness, and upon Christ as the princi- 
pal, and holiness, as the subordinate means to bring him 
to God, John xiv. 6. l-ir.m. ii. 7 He choosclh Jesus foi* 
his Lord, Co/, ii. 6. lie is not merely forced into Christ 
by the storm, nor dolh he take Christ for bare neces- 
sity ; but he deliberately resolves that Christ is his best 
choice, jP////. i. 2,S. and would rallier have himtochoosc 
than all the good of this world, might he enjoy it while 
he would. Agipin, he takes holiness for his path ; he 
doth not of mere necessity submit to it, but he likes and 
loves it. ''I have chosen the way of thy precepts,** 
Psalmcx'ix. 173. He takes God's testimonies, not as 
his bondage, but as his heritage, yea, heritage for ever, 
vcr. III. He counts them not his burden but his bliss ; 
not his cords but his cordials, 1 Johnv. 3. Psalm cxix. 
14, 16, 17. He doth not only bear, but takes up Christ's 
yoke. He takes not holiness as the stomach doth the 
loathed potion, which it will down with rather than die, 
but as the hungry doth his beloved food. No lime 
passes so sweetly with him as that he spends in the ex- 
ercise of holiness ; these are both his aliment and el- 
ement, the desire of his eyes and the joy of his heart, 
./b6xxiii 12 Psc/w cxix. 82. 1 1 1 162.174 and Ixxiii. 
5. Put thy conscience to it as thou goest, whether thou 
art the man : O happy man, if this be thy case ! but 
see thou be thorough and impartial in the search. 

Thirdly, " It turns the bent of his affection," 2 Cor. 
\\u U. These run all in a new channel : the Jordan 



20 The XaUire <2/^ Conversion. 

is no'.v driven back, and the water runs upward, rgainst 
its iiaiural course. 

Chri:>Ubhis/;:v''/f, I Tii.i.'i. I. \.\n^\s\\\s firize^ Fhii- 
\\\ 8. here his ej-c is. here his heart is. .lie is con- 
tented to ca-u ail overboard (as the merchant in the 
btoini ready to perish) so he may but keep this Jewel. 

The first of iiis desires is not after gold, but grace, 
Phil. iii. 13. He hungers after it, he seeks it as silver, 
he digs ^KiY it as for a hid treasure ; he had rather be 
gracious than be great ; he had rather be the holiest 
nv.m on earth, than the most learned, the most famous, 
thw* most prosperous. While carnal, he said, (> 1 if I 
were but in great esteen», and rolled in wealth, and 
swimmed in pleasure: if my debts were paid, and, I 
and mine provided for, then I were a happy Hian. 
Ikit now the tone is changed. O ! saith the convert, 
if I had but my corruption subdued, if I had such mea- 
sures of grace, such fellowship with God, though I were 
poor and despised, I should not care, I should account 
myself a blessed m^n. Reader, is this the language 
of thy soul ? 

Wis joys are changed. He rejoiceth in the ways of 
God's testimonies, as much as in all riches Psalvi cxix. 
14. He ''delights in the law of the Lord;" he haili 
no such joy as in the thoughts of Christ, the fruition 
of his company, the prosperity of his people. 

His cares are quite altered : he was once setforthe 
world, and any scraps of by-time were enough for his 
soul. Now '' he gives over caring for the asses,'* and 
sets his heart upon the kingdom ; now all the cry is, 
" What shall 1 do to be saved ?" ^cts xvi. 30. His 
great solicitude is how to secure his so«l : O how he 
would bless you, if you could put him out of doubt of 
this 1 

His fears take another turn, Heb. xi. 25,27. Once 
he was afraid of nothing so much as the loss of his es- 
tate or esteem, the pleasure of friends, or the frowns of 
the great; nothing sounded so terrible to him, as pain, or 
poverty, or disgrace : now these are little to him in com- 
parison of God's dishonour or displeasure. How warily 
doth he walk lest he should tread upon a snare! He fear- 
elh always he looks bsfore and behind j he h:ilh his eye 



T/ie lYatureofCojuviE.'RSio^. Ql 

upon his heart, and is often casting it over his shoulder, 
lest he should be overtaken with sin, P.sc///? xxxix 1. 
Prov. xxviii. 14. Eccla^. ii 14. Il kills his heart to 
think of losinjj God's favour, this he drends as his only- 
undoing, Pi-a/m li, 11. 12. and cxix 8. No thought in 
the world doth pinch him and pain him so much, as to 
think of parting with Christ. 

His/ore runs a new course. " My love was crucified," 
saith Ignatius ; that is, my Christ. ^'This is my belov- 
ed," saiih the spouse, Cart v 1 6. How doth Augustine 
often pour out his love upon Christ ? •' O eternal bles- 
sedness' ^C' He can find no words sweet enough : 

*'Letme see thee, O lightof mine eyes? Come O thou 
joy of my spirit ! Let me behold thee, O life of my soul ! 
Appear unto me, O my great delight, my sweet com- 
fort; O my God my life, and the whole glory of my 
soul ! Let me find thee, O desire of my heart I Let me 
hold thee. O love of my soul ! Let mc embrace thee, O 
heavenly bridegroom ! Let me possess thee." 

His sorrows have now a new vent, 2 Cor. vii 9, 10. 
The view of his sins, the sight of a Christ crucified, 
that would scarce stir him before, now how much do 
they affect his heart ! 

His /^a^rff/ boils, his anger burns against sin, Fsa!. 
cxix. 104. He calls himself fool, and tlunks any 
name too good for himself, when his indignation is 
stirred up agidnst sin. Pi,alm Ixxiii. 22, Prov xxx. 2. 

*'Ct>mmune then with thy own htart," and attend 
the common and general current of thine affection, 
whether it be towards God in Christ above all other 
concernments.' Indeed, sudden and strong cou/ motions 
of the affections and sensitive parts arc often fount! in 
hypocrites, especially where the natural inclination 
leads thereunto: and contrary-wise, the sancuficd them- 
selves are many times without very sf-nsible sti) ling 
of the afl'ections, where the temper is more slow, dry, 
and dull. The great enquiry is whether the juc'gmpnt 
and will be steadily determined fc-r God, ahove all other 
good, real or apparent ; and if the affections do sin- 
cerely follow their choice anfl conduct. thonp:h it be 
not so strongly and sensibly as is to be desired, there 
is no doubt but the change is saving. 



^2! The Nature <2/" Conversion". 

2. " Throughout the members.'* Those that were 
before the instruments of sin, are now become the holy 
utensils of Christ's living temple, Rovi. vi. 16 1 Cxir. 
iii. 16. The eye that was once a wandering eye, a 
wanton eye, an haughty, covetous eye< is now employ- 
ed as Mary*s in weeping over its sins. Luke vii. 38. in 
beholding God in his works, P&alm viii. 3. in reading 
his word, Acts viii SO. in looking up and down for 
objects of mercy, and opportunities for his service. 

The ear^ that was once open to Satan's call, and that, 
like a vitiated palate, did relish nothing so much as fil- 
thy, or at least frothy talk, and the fools laughter, is 
now bored to the door of Christ's house, and open to 
discipline: itsaith, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant hear- 
cth ;" 2nd waits for his words as the rain, and rclishtth 
them more than the appointed food, JoA xxxiii. 12, 
" than the honey and the honey comb," Psalm xix 10. 

The head that was the shop of worldly designs, is 
now filled v/iih other matters, and set on the study of 
God's will, Psalm\. 2. and cxix. 97. The thoughts 
and cares that fill it, are principally how he may please 
God and flee sin. 

His /j(?arr,that was full of filthy lusts, is now become 
an altar of incense, where the fire of divine love is ever 
kept in ; and v/hence the daily sacrifice cf prayer and 
praise, and the sweet incense of holy desires, ejacyla^ 
tions and aspirations, are continually ascending^ P&alm 
eviii. 1. and cxix. 20. and cxxxix. 17,18, 

The mouth is become a well of life, his tongue as 
choice silver, and his li/is feed many, now the salt of 
grace hath seasoned his speech, and eat out the cor- 
ruption, Col. iv. 6. and cleansed the mouth from its 
filthy communication, flattery, boasting, lying, swear- 
ing, backbiting, that once cam.e like flashes from the 
hell that was in the heart, James iii. 6,7. 

The ^//roa;, that was once "an open sepulchre," i?ow. 
iii. 13. now sends forth the sweet breath of prayer and 
holy discourse, and the man speaks in another tongue, 
in the lan;<uage of Canaan^ and is never so well as when 
talking of God and Christ, and the matters of another 
world. His mouth biingcth wisdom, his tongue is be- 



The Nature o/* Conversion. ^3 

come *he silver trumpet of his Maker's praise, his 
glory, and the best member he hath. 

Now here you shall have the hypocrite halting : he 
speaks, it may be, like an angel, but he hath a covetous 
eye, or the gain of unrighteousness in his hand; or the 
hand is white, but his heart is full of rottenness. Matt. 
xxiii. 2f fuH of unmortified cares, a very oven of lust, 
a shop of pride, the seat of malice. It may be with 
J^tbuchadnezzar's image, he hath a golden head^Tn great 
deal of knowledge : but he hath feet of clay^ his affec- 
tions are worldly, he minds worldly things, and his way 
and walk are sensual and carnal : you may trace him 
in his secret haunts, and his footsteps will be found in 
some by-paths of sin ; The work is not throughout 
with him. 

3. " Throughout the motions or the life and prac- 
tice." The new man takes a new course, -£//: ii 2, 
3. " his conversation is in heaven," Fhil. iii- 20. No 
sooner doth he obey the call of Christ, but he straight- 
way becomes a follower of him. Mutt. iv. 20. When 
God hath given the new heart, and wrote his law in 
his mind, he forthwith walks in his statutes, and keeps 
his judgments, -^z<"A:. xxxvi. 26.27. 

Though sin may be in him, yet it "hath no more 
dominion over him," Horn \\. 7,14, he "hath his 
fruit unto holiness," chafi. vi. 22. And the lav/ of life, 
and Jesus, is what he eyes as his copy, Pf,alm cxix. 30. 
Hed. xii. 2. and he hath an unfeigned respect for all 
God's commandments, making conscience even of little 
sins and little duties. Psahn cxix. I 13. His very in- 
firmities are his soul's burden, and arc like the dust 
in a man's eye, which though but little, yet is not a 
little troublesome. (O man ! Dost thou read this, and 
never turn it upon thy soul by self-examination ?) The 
sincere convert is not one man at church, and another 
at home ; he is not a saint on his knees, and a cheat in 
his shop ; he will not tithe mint and cummin, and ne- 
glect ** merry and judgment, and the weightier matters 
of the law ; he doth not pretend piety and neglect mc- 
rality, ATatt. ixxiii. 1 4. but he turneth from all his sirs, 
and keeps all God's statutes, /izfA'. xviii. 2 I not aliov ^ 
in^ himself in the breach of any, Rom. vii. 15. Noy^^ 



^4 T/ie iVat7ire ^^CosvBiisioyi. 

he delii^hts in the word, and sets himself to prayer, and 
opens his hand and drawsout his soul toi he hungry, -Row?, 
vii. 22. FsalmciK. 4:. Zsa. Iviii. 10. " Pic breakelh oft' 
his sins by righteousness, and his ii.iquiiies by shewing 
raercy to the poor,"i>a;:. iv. 27. and hath a good con- 
science, willing in all things to live honestly, "//(?Z>xiii. 13 
18. and to keep without otVence towards God and man. 

Here again you find the unsoundness of many profes- 
sors, that take themselves for good Christians : they are 
partial in the laM',3/fl/. ii. 9. and take up with the cheap 
and easy du'ies of religion, but go not through with the 
work. They are as a cake not turned. It may he you 
sh^ll have them exact in their words, punctual in their 
dealings, but then they do not exercise themselves unto 
godliness, and for examining themselves, and govern- 
ing their hearts, to this they are strangers. You may 
have them duly at church, but follow them to their fam- 
ilies, and there you shall see liltle but the world minded ; 
or if they have a road for family duties, follow them to 
tlieir closeti--, and there you sliall find their souls are 
little looked after. It may be they seem otherwise re- 
ligious, but bridle not their tongues, and so all their re- 
ligion is vain. Jair.es i. 26. It may be they come up to 
closet and family prayer; but follow them to their shops, 
and there you shall find them in a trade of lying, or 
some covert and cleanly way of deceit. Thus the hypo- 
crite goes throughout in the course of his obedience. 
And thus*, much for the subject of Cor-oevfion. 

6. '"The terms are eithery'rom ivhichyov to which.^* 

1. "The terms from which we turn in this motion 
of Converbion, are sin, Satan, the world, and our own 
righteousness. 

First, Sin. When a man is converted he is forever 
out with sin ; yea, with all sin, P,^alm cxix. 128. But 
most of all with .his own sins, and especially with his 
bosom sin. Psalm xviii. 2 3. Sin is now the butt of his 
indignation, 2 Ccr. vii. 1 1 . he thirsts to bathe his hands 
in the blood of liis sins. His sins set his sorrows 
abroach : if God should give him his .hoice, he would 
choose any affliction so he might be rid of sin. 
. Before conversion he had light thoughts of i;in ; he 



The Nature c/' Conversion. ^5 

cherished it in his bosom, as Uriah his Iamb; " he nou- 
rished it up, and it grew up together with him ; it did 
eat as it were his own meat, and drank of his own cup, 
and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 
But when God opens hi§ eyes by conversion, he 
throws it away with abhorrence, laaiah xxx. 22. When 
a man is savingly changed, he is not only deeply con- 
vinced of the danger, but defilement of sin ; and O, how 
earnest is -he with God to be purified 1 He loathes iiim- 
self for his sins, Eztk. xxxvi. 31. He runs to Christ, 
and ''casts himself into the fountain for sin and for un- 
cleanness,'* Ztch. xiii. 1. 

The sound convert is heartily engaged against sin, 
he struggles with it. he wars against it ; he will never 
yield the cause, nor L^y down his weapons, but he will 
up and to it again, while he has breath in his body. He 
can forgive his other enemicii: 1*: can pity them and 
pray for them, ylrts vii. 60 but here he is implacable, 
here he is set upon revenge : his eye shall not pity, his 
hand shall not spare, though it be a right hand or a 
right eye. Be it a gainful sin, most delightful to his 
nature, or support to his esteem with carnal friends, yet 
he will rather throw away his gain, sec his credit fall, or 
the flov^'er of pleasure wither in his hand, than he will 
allow himself in any known way of sin, Luke xix. 8. He 
will grant no indulgence, he will give no tolerf^tion, he 
draws upon sin wherever he me;gts it, and frowns upon 
it with this unwelcome salute, " Have I found thee, O 
mipe enemy ?" 

Reader, hath conscience been at work whilst thou 
hast been looking over these lines ; Hast thou pondered 
these things in thy heart ? Hast thou searched the book 
Tjithin^ to see if these things be so ? If not, read it again, 
and make thy conscience speak, whether or not it be 
thus with thee. 

Hast thou '' crucified thy flesh, with its affertions 
and lusts;" and not only confessed, but forsaken, ihy 
sius ? All sin in thy desires, and t!ie practice of every 
deliberate and wilful sin in thy life I If not, thou art yet 
unconverted 

Secondly, Satan. Conversion " binds the strong man^ 
C 



'^6 The Nature o/* Conversion. 

spoils him of his armour, casts out his p^oods, and 
turns men from the power of Satun unto God,'* ^cr* 
xxvi. 18. Before, the devil could no sooner hold up his 
finger to the sinner to call him to liis wicked company, 
sinful games fihlu- delights, but prrsenily he followed, 
" Like in ox to the slaughter, and a fooJ to the correction 
of the stocks, ub u bird that hastcth lo the prey, and 
knoweth not that it is for his life.'* But when he is 
converted, he serves another master, and takes quite 
another course, 1 Pet. iv. 4. he goes and comes at 
Christ's beck, Coi. iii. 2i-. He watches against the 
snares and baits 'of Satan, and studies to b2 acquainted 
with his devices : He is very suspicious of his plots, 
and is very jealous of what comes athwart him, lest 
Satan should have some design upon him : He " \t res- 
iles agdnst principalities and powers," £/.h vi. 12. he 
entertains the messenger of Satan as men do the mes- 
sengtir of death ; he keeps his eye upon his enemy, I 
Pet. V. 8. and watches in his duties lest Satan should 
put in his. foot. 

Thirdly, T/i:; ivorld. Before a sound faiih, a man is 
overcome of the world : either he bows down to mam- 
mon, or idolizes his reputation, or is a "lover of pleas- 
ure more than a lover of GoJ," 2 Tim. iii. 4. Here is 
the root of man's misery by the fall, he is turned aside to 
the creature instead of God, and gives that esteem, con- 
fidence, and affection to the creature, that is due to him 
alone, Rom. i. 25. Matt. x. 37. Prov. xviii. W.Jerem, 
XV ii. 5. 

But converting gr;ice sets all in order again, and puts 
God on the throne, and the world his footstool, Pmaim 
Ixxiii. 25. Christ in the heart, and the world under the 
feet, ^M- iii. 17. Rev xii. 1. So Paul, '• 1 am crucified 
to the world and the world to me," Gal. vi. 14. Be- 
fore this change, all the cry was, ''Who will shew us 
any woil ily good?" But now he sings another tune. 
Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon 
me," and lot who will take the corn and wine, Psalm 
iv. 6 7. Before, his heart's delight and content w^s in 
the world ; then the song was, " Soul, take thine ease ; 
eat, drink, and be m^erryi thou hast much ^oods lai^ 



Hie Nature ^CoNVERsiOiT. QH, 

lip for many years :" But now all this is withered, anc], 
"there is no comeliness that he should -'esire it *' and he 
tunes up with the sweet Psalmist c'i hvacl, '' The Lord 
is the portion of mv inheritance : The lines are fallen 
to me in a fair place, and I have a j^oodly heritJ^ge." 
He blcaseth himself and boasieth himself in God, Psalm 
xxxiv. 2 Lam.ni. 24. Nothin:>elsc can give him con- 
tent. He hath written T'cmV?/ cnrf T'rj:a/'z6?z upon all his 
worldly enjoyments, Eccles. \. 2. and loss^vAcIurg up- 
on all human excellencies. Phil. X\\ 7, 8. He hath life 
and immortality now in cliace, Bom. ii. 7. He pursues 
grace and glory, and hath an incoriuptiblc crown in 
pursuit, 1 ''Cor. ix. 25. His heart is set in him to seek 
the Lord, I CAroTZ. xxii. 9. and 2 CAron. xv, 15. He 
"first seeks the kingdom of heaven and the righteous- 
ness thereof ;" and religion is no longer a matter by 
the by with him, but the main of his care, Matt. vi. 33. 
Psalm xxvii. 4. 

Well then, pause a little, and look within : Doth net 
this nearly concern thee ? Thou prctendest for Christ, 
but doth not the world swny thee ? Dost not thou take 
more real delight and content in the world, ihr.n in him ? 
Dost tliou not find thyself belter at ea*;e when the world 
goes to tliy mind, and thou art encom.prissed with car- 
nal delights than when retired to prayer and medita- 
tion in thy closet, or attending upon God's word and 
worsl-np ! No surer evidence of an unconverted state, 
than to have the things of the world uppermost in our 
aim, love, and est»»nation, Jq/iu ii, 15. Ja?nes iv. 4. 

With the sound convert, Christ hath the supremacy. 
How dear is his name to him ! How precious is his 
favour! Cant.i. 3. Psalm \\y. 8 — The name of Jesus 
is engraven upon his heart, Gal. iv. 19. and lies as a 
bundle of myrrh between his breasts, Cant. i. 13, 14. 
Honour is but air, and laughter is but madness, and 
Mammon is fallen, like Dagon before the ark, with 
hands and head broken off on the threshold, when once 
Christ is savingly revealed. Here is the pearl of great 
price to the true convert, here is his treasure, here is 
his hope, Matt. xiii. 44, 45. This is his glory, "My 
beloved is mine; and I am his,*' Ga/. vi. 14. Cant.u, 



r28 77^6* Xaiure (/Conversion. 

J 6. O, it is sweeter to him to be able to say, Clirist is 
mine, than if he could say, The kingdom is mine. The 
Indies are mine. 

Fourthly, Your oivii righteou&ness. Before conversion 
man seeks to cover himself with his own fig-leaves, 
Phil. iii. 6, 7. and to make himself whole with his own 
duties, Alic. vi. 6, 7. He is apt to trust in himself, Luke 
xvi. 15. and xviii 9. and set up his own righteousness, 
;ind to rer! on his .counters for gold, and not submit to 
the righteousness of God, Rovi. x. 3. But conversion 
changes his mind, now he casts away his ow:n righteous- 
ness as a filthy rag, Isa. xliv, 6. Now he is brought to 
poverty of spirit, Alatt.v, 3. 'complains of, and con- 
demns himsclf,i?om. vii. and all his inventory by nature 
is " poor, and miserable, and wretched, and blind, and 
naked,'* x?6x'. iii. 17. He sees a world of iniquity in his 
holy things, and calls his once idolized righteousness 
but filth and dross, and would not for a thousand worlds 
i)e found in himself. Phil. iii. 4. 7, 8, 9. His finger is 
ever upon his sores, Psalm li. 3. his sins, his wants. 
Now he begins to set a high price upon Christ's rignt- 
coirsncss ; he ^ees the need of a Chiist in every duly to 
justify both his person and periormflnccs : he cannot 
live without him ; he cannot pray without him ; Christ 
must go v/ith him, or else he cannot come into the pres- 
ence of God ; he leans upon the- hand of Christ, and so 
bows himself in the house of his God ; he sets himself 
down for a lost undone man without him ; his life is 
hid and grows in Christ, as the root ?f a tree spreads in 
the eanii for stability and nutriment. Before, the news 
of Christ was a stale and sapless thing; but now how^ 
sweet is Christ ! The voice cf the convert is, with the 
martyr, *' Nope but Christ.*' 

The terms to which we turn are, 

Is/, To God the Father, Son. and Holy Ghost. 

2£.7i/, To the laws, ordinances, end ways of Christ. 

A man is never truly justified, till his very heart be 
in truth set upon God above all things as his portion 
and chief good. These are the natural breathings of 
a believer's heart: "Thou art my p' rtion." Ps^alm 
cxix. 57, " My soul shall mal^e her boast in the Lord," 



The Nature ^Conversion. 29 

Psalm xxxvi. 2. " My expectation is from him ; he on- 
ly is my rock and my salvation, he is my defence. In 
God is my salvation and glory ; the rock of my strength, 
and my refuge is in God/' /^w/m Ixii. 1,2,5,7, and 
xviii. 1,2. 

Would you put it to an issue, whether you be con- 
verted or not ? Now let thy soul and all that is within 
thee attend ; 

.Hast thou taken God for thy happiness ? Where doth 
the content of thy heart lie ? Whence doth thy choicest 
comfort come in. Come then, and with Jbraham^ " lift 
up thine eyes eastward and westward, and northwc. '«! 
and southward,'* and cast about thee. What is it that 
thou wouldest have in heaven, or en earth, to make 
thee happy? If God should give thee thy choice, as he 
did to Solomon^ or should say to thee, as ^/lasuerus to 
Esther^ " What is thy petition, and what is thy request, 
and it shall be granted thee?" Esther \. 3. What 
wouldest thou ask ? Go into the gardens of pleasure, 
and gather all fragrant flowers from thence, would these 
content thee ? Go to the treasures of Mammon, suppose 
thou mighlest lade thyself as heavy as thou wouldst 
from thence : Go to the towers, to the trophies of hon- 
our ; what thinkest thou of being a man of renown, and 
having a name like the name of the great men of the 
earth ? Would any of these, would all these suffice thee, 
and make thee count thyself an happy man ? If so, then 
certainly thou art carnal and unconverted. If not, go 
farther ; wade into the divine excellencies, the store of 
his mercies, the liiding of his power, the depth unfath- 
omable of his all-sufficiency ; doth this suit tliee best, 
and please the most ? Dost thou say " It is good to be 
here?" Mutt. xvii. 4. "Here will I pitch, here will I 
live and die." Wilt thou let all the world go rather than 
this ? Then it is well between God and thee. Happy 
art thou, O man, happy art thou that ever thou wast 
born ; If a God can make thee happy, thou Dmst needs 
be happy ; for thou hast vouched the Lord to be thy 
God, Devj. xxvi. 17. Dost thou say to Christ, as he to 
us, ''Thy f\ither shall be my Father, and thy God h^ 
my God?" t/j/m xiv. 7. Here is the turning point. 
C 2 



50 The Nature cf Co-s\ii.K^io:s, 

An unsound professor never takes up his rest in God, 
but convening gcace does the work, and so cures the 
fatal misery of the fall, by turning the heart from its 
idol to the living God, ! Thefm. i. 9. Now, says the 
soul, ''Lord whither shall I go I Thou bust the words 
of eternal life." John vi. 68. Here he centers, here he 
settles ; O, it is the entrance of heaven to him to see 
his interest in God. When he discovers this, he saith, 
" Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath 
dealt bountifully with thee,'* Pmbn cxvi. 7. And is 
•veil ready to breathe out Simeon* s song, " Lord, now 
* Ltest thou thy servant depart in peace," Zz.-^^ ii. 29. 
and saith with Jacobs when his old heart revived st the 
welcome tidings, "It is enough," Gm. xlv. 28. When 
}ie seeth that he hath a God in covenant to go to. "this 
is ail his salvation, and all his desire," Sam xxiii. 5. 

Man, is this thy case? hast thou experienced this? 
Avhy then, "blessed art thou of the Lord?'* God hath 
been at work with thee, he hath laid hold on thy heart 
by the power of converting grace, or else thou couldst 
never have done tliis. 

The true convert turns to Jesus Christ the only me- 
diator between God and man, 1 Tim. ii. 5. His work is 
10 bring us to God, 1 Pet. iii. 18. He is the way to the 
lc-d\\\e,\'^Jolin xiv. 6. the only plank on which we may 
escape, the only door by which we may enter, Johnyi, 9. 
as the only means of life, as the only way, the only name 
given under heaven, Acts iv. 12. He looks not for sal- 
vation in any other but him, nor in any other with him : 
but tiirows himself on Christ alone, as one that should 
cast hiniself with arms spread out upon the sea. 
^ "Here, saith the convinced sinner, I will vlsnture; 
and if I perish, I perish ; if I die, I will die here. But 
Lord, suffer me not to perish under the pitiful eye of 
thy i^iercy. — Intreat me not to leave thec; or to turn 
away from following after thee,*'"i^wM i. 16. Here I 
^idll thro\7 myself: if thou kick me, if thou, kill me, I 
will not go from thy door. Job xiii. 17. 

Thi^s the poor soul doth ventiu'e on Christ, and re- 
-solvedly adhere to him. Before conversion the man 
made light of Christ j minded his farm; friends, mer- 



The Nature ^ Conversion. 3i 

cliaiulise, more than Christ, ISlatt. xxii. 5. nov/ Christ 
is to him as his necessary food, his diiiy bread, ilie life 
of his heart, the staff of his life. Gal. ii 20. His great 
design is, that Christ may be mi'gnified in him, Phil i. 
20. His heart ones said, as they to the spouse, '* What 
is thy beloved more than another?'* Cant. v. 9. He 
found more sweetness in his merry company, wicked 
games, and earthly delights, than in Christ. He took 
religion for a fancy, and th.e talk of great enjoyments 
for an idle dream ; but now " to him to live is Clirist." 
He sets light by all that he accounted precious, "for 
the excellency of the knowledge ofChiist," Phil. iii. 8. 

All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert ; he 
loves net only the wages, but the work of Christ, Rom. 
vii. 12. not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ : 
he is willing not only to tread out the corn but to draw 
under the yoke ; he takes up the commands of Christ, 
yea, and the cross of Christ, Matt. xi. 9. and xvi. 24. 

The unsound co.nvei't closes only by halves with 
Christ: he is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is 
not for sanctiiication ; he is for the privileges, but va- 
lues not the person of Christ : he divides the offices and 
benefits of Christ. This is an error in the foundation : 
Who loveth life let him beware here ! it is an undoing 
mistake, of which you have been often warned, and yet 
none more common. Jesus is a sweet name, but men 
" love not the Lord Jcsus in sincerity,'* Ephes. vi. 24. 
They will not have him as God offers, ^*to be a Prince 
and a Saviour," .fc^s v. 31. They divide what God 
hath joined, the King and the Priest : Yea, they will not 
accept the salvation of Christ as he intends it : they di- 
vide it here. Every man's vote is for s.tlvation from 
suffering but they desire not to be saved from sinning: 
they would have their lives saved, but withal would 
have their lusts. Vea, many divide here again ; they 
would be content to have some of their sins destroyed, 
but they cannot leave the lap of Delilah^ or divorce the 
beloved Herodias. They cannot be cruel to the ri^ht 
eye or right hand ; the " Lord must pardon them io 
this thing, 2 Kings v. 18, 



3.3 The XaUirc of Conversion. 

O be infiiutely tender here, your souls lie upon it. 
Tlie sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes him 
for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without 
limitations, without reserves. lie is willing to have 
Christ upon his own terms, upon any terms. He is 
willing to have the dominion oiChri'.i as well as deliv- 
erance by C'lrist. He saith with Paul, "Lord, what 
w'ilt thou have me to do?' ytcts ix. 6. any thint^. Lord: 
He sends a blank to Christ to set down his conditions, 
^■Icta ii. 37. and xvi. 30. 

. 2{lly, He turns to the laws, ordinances, and ways of 
Christ. The heart that was once set against these, and' 
couhl not endure the strictness of these bonds, the sever- 
ity of these ways, now falls in love with them, and chti- 
ses them as its rule and guide forever, Pmlni cxix 1 1 L, 
il2. 

Four things, I observe, God doth \vork in every sound 
convert, with reference to the laws and ways of Christ, 
by which you may come to know your state, if you will 
be faithful to your own souls ; and therefore keep your 
eyes upon you.r hearts as you go along. 

1st. "• The judgment is brought to approve of them, 
and sub^-.cribe to them as most righteous and most rcas- 
©nable,'* Psalm cxix. I 12, 128, 137, 138. The mind is 
brought to like the ways of God ; and the corrupt pre- 
judices that were once against them, as unreasonable^ 
and intolerable, are now removed : the understanding * ' 
assents to them, all, as " holy, just and good," Rom. vii. 
2. How is D wid taken up with the excellencies of 
God's laws I How doth he expatiate in their praise, 
both from their inherent qualities and admirable effects t 
Psalm xix. 8, 10. Sec. 

2dly, " The desire of the heart is to know the whole 
mind of Christ," Psahn cxix. 124, 125, 169, and xxv. 4, 
5. He would not have one sin undiscoveredy nor be ig- 
norant of one duty required. It is the natural and ear- 
nest breathing of a sanctified heart, "Lord, if there be 
any way of wickedness in me, do thou discover it— • 
What i know not, teach thou me ; and if I have done 
iniquity I will do it no more." The unsound convert is 



The Nature of Conversion. 3S 

Ayillir.g;ly ignorant, 2 Pet. iii. 5. loves not to come to the 
Ifght, »/b/m iii. 20 He is willing to keep such or such 
a sin, and therefore is loth to know it to be sin, and will 
not let in the light at that window. Now the gracious 
heart is willing to know the whole latitude and compass 
of his Maker's law, >P«a/mcxix. 18, 19,27,33,64,66,68, 
78, 108, 124. He receives with all acceptation the word 
that convinceth him of any duty that he knew not, or 
minded not before, or discorerelh any sin that lay hid 
before, Psalm cxix. 11. 

3dly. ''The free and resolved choice of the will is 
determined for the ways of Christ, before all the plea- 
sures of sin. and prosperities of the world." Psalm cxix. 
103, 127, 16-2. His consent is not extorted by some 
extremity of anguish, nor is it only a sudden and hasty 
resolve, but he is deliberate*y purposed, and comes off 
freely to the choice, Psalm xvii. 3. and cxix. 30. True 
the flesh will rebel, yet the prevailing part of his will is 
for Clirisl's law ynd government, so that he takes them 
not up as his toil or burden, but bis bliss, I John v. 3. 
Psalm cyiW. 60,72. While the unsanct^'ied goes in 
Christ's ways u* in chains and fetters, he vloth it natural- 
ly. Psalm xi 8. Jcr. xxxi. 33. and counts Chris.t's laws 
his liberty. Psalm cxix. 32. 45, Jrunes i. 25. He is wil- 
ling in the beauties of holiness, Psalm ex 3. and hath 
this insep^irahlc mark, "that he had rather (if he might 
have his choice) live a strict and holy life, than the most 
prosperous and flourishing life in the wnrld." Sam. y., 
26. '* There went with Savl?i band of men whose iuarts 
God had touched." When God touche^th the hearts of 
men, they presentlv follow Chiisi. Mctt. iv. 2. and 
(though drawn) do freely run after him. Cant i. 4. and 
vviiiiiiglv offer t!se-TiseIves. to the service of the Lord, 
2 Chroy^id-s xvii 16 seeking him with their whole 6q' 
'A\'e, c/ia/itf^r xy 15. Fear hath its use ; but tliis is not 
t1\e main spri'ig of njotion with a sanctified }ie;u't. 
Christ keeps not his subjects in by force, but i.s King of 
a willing pef.ple. They are, thrci:gh his grace, freely 
resolved for his service, and do it out of choice, not as 
slaves, but as the son or spouse, from a spring of love 
and ioya] mind. In a word, the laws of C[;rist are the 



3 i Jlie Xature of CoNvERSiair. 

convert's love. Psalm cxix. 159, 163, 167. his desire. 
x;(?r.9d'2,20, 40: his delight verse 97 99, 103, 111, U3-, 
and continual stiuly, verse 97, 99. and Psalm i. 2. 

4thly. " Th-^ Ir*nt of this course is directed to keep 
God's statutes." P.9a/m cxix 4,8. 167, 163. It is the 
daily care of his life to wr\lk with God. He seeks f*reat 
thinpfs. he hath noble desij>ns, though he falls too short. 
He aims at nothin.u; less than perfection ; he desires it, 
he reaches after it ; he would not "rest in any pitch of 
Horace, till he were quite rid of sin, and had perfected 
holiness. Phil. \\\. 11. 14. 

Here the hypocrite's rottenness may be discovered. 
He desires holiness, as one well said, only as a bridge to 
heaven, and enquires earnestly what is the least that will 
serve his turn ; and if he can get but so much as may 
bring hi-n to heaven, this is all he cares for. But the 
sound convert desires holiness for holiness sake, Psalm 
cxix. 97. Matthenv v. 6 and not only for heaven's sake. 
He would not be satisfied with so much as might save 
him from hell, but desires the highest pitch : Yet de- 
sires are not enough ; What is thy way and thy course ? 
Is the drift and scope of thy, life altered ? Is holiness thy 
trade, and religion thy business? Romans viii. I. Mat- 
thevj XXV. 16. Phil. i. 20. If not thou art short of 
sound conversion. 

Application. And is this that v/e have described 
the conversion that is of absfdute necessity to salvation ? 
Then be informed, 1. That " strait is the gat^^;, and nar- 
row is the way that leadeth unto life.'* 2. " That there 
are but fevr that find it." 3. That there is need of 
a divine power savingly to convert a sinner to Jesus 
Christ, 

Agairr ; Then be exhorted, O man that readcst, to 
turn in- upon thy own self. What saith conscience? 
Doth it not begin to bite ? Doth it not pain thee as thou 
goest? Is this thy judgment, this thy choice: and this 
thy way that we have described ? If so, then it is well. 
B'it doth not thy heart condemn thee, and tell thee there 
is such a sin thou livest in, against thy conscience ? Doth 
it not tell thee, there is such and such a secret way of 



Tlie Necessiti/ ^Co^versiox. Sb 

wickedness that thou .-.rt guilty of? «uch or such a duty 
that thou makest no conbcience of ? 

Doth not conscience can y Uue to thy closet, and tell 
thee how seldom prayer and residing is pcrfoin.ed there ? 

Doth it not carry thee to thy fan.ily and shew thee 
the charge of God, and the soulb oi thy children and 
servants that are neglected there ? Doth net conscience 
lead thee to thy sliop li.y trade, and tell ihee of bcn e 
i-n>stery of iniquity there r Doih it not carry thee to thy 
places of cntertumnjent and rcn.ind thee of the cci..j)a- 
ny thou keepest there ; the prccic.us time thou n.is- 
spcndest there ; the tai.nts the u ^\aslesl there ? Doth it 
not lead thee to thy secret chi.Uiber, and discover to thee 
things that are hid from the eyes of n.an, and knowD 
only to God and thy sell ? 

C) conscience 1 do thy duty : In the name of the liv- 
ing God, I conmiand thee to discharge thy office. Lay 
hold upon this sinner, f dl upon him, arrest him, appre- 
hend him, undeceive him. What! \\ilt thou flatter 
and soothe hin; \\hile he lives i . his sins? Awake, O 
conscience; what meanest thou, C) sleeper ? What! 
Hast thou never a reproof in thy nioutii ? What! Shall 
this soul die in his careless neglect of God and eternity, 
and thou altogether hold thy peace ? What ! shall he go 
on in his trespasses, . nd yet have peace ? O rouse up 
thyself, and do thy work! Now let ilie preacher in thy 
bosom speak, cry aloud and spare not ; lilt up thy voice 
like a trumpet ; Let not the blood of hii soul be requi- 
red at thy hands. 

CHAP. IIL 

Of the JW'ccs&ity o/" Conversion. 

IT may be you are ready to say. What meaneth this 
siir? And are apt to wonder why I follow you with 
such earnestness, still linging one lesson in your cars, 
that you should " repent and be convened," ^icts. iii. 
19. But I must say unto you as Ruth to A'aojniy "ii> 
treat rne not to leave you, nor to turn aside from follow- 
ing after you," Euth i. 16. Were it a matter of indif- 



30 The Necessltij of Conversion. 

ferency, I would never make so moch ado : might you 
be saved as you be, I would gladly let you alone : but 
would you not have me solicitous for you, when I see 
you ready to perish. As the Lord liveth, before whom 
I am, I have not tlje least hopes of seeing one of your fa- 
ces in heaven, except you be converted ; I utterly des- 
pair of your salvation, except you will be prevailed with 
to turn thoroughly and give up yourselves to God in ho- 
liness and newness of life. Hath God said, '• Erxcpt ye 
be born again, ye cannot see the- kingdom of God," John 
iii. 3, and yet do you wonder why your ministers do so 
plainly travail in birth with you? Thi' k it not strange 
that I am earnest with you to follow afier holiness, and 
long to see the image of God upon you . never did any, 
nor shall any enter into he.tvcn by any other way but this. 
The conversion described is not an high pitch of some 
taliei christians; butevsry soul that is saved pasbeth this 
universal change. 

It was A passage of the noble Roman, when he was 
hastening witti corn to the city in the famine, and the ma- 
riners were ioth lo set sail in foul weather, " Our voy- 
age is more necessary than our lives.'* What is it that 
thou dos^ count necessary ? is thy bread necessary ? Is 
thy breath necessary? Then thy conversion is much more 
necessary. Indeed, this is the one thing necessary. 
Thine estate is not necessary ; thou maycst sell all tor the 
pearl of great price, and yet be a gainer by the purchase, 
Matt, xiii 46. Thy life is not necet>Sdry ; thou mayest 
part v/ith it for Ciirist to an infinite advantage. Thine 
esteem is not necessary ; thou mayest be reproached for 
the name of Christ and ystbe h;.ppy : yea. much more 
happy in reproach than in i-epute. \2^tt.i\. 14 Matt, 
V. I'JJ 11. But thy conversion 'is necessary; thy dam- 
nation lies upon it. And is it not needful, in so impor- 
tant a case, to look about thee ? On this one poinl de- 
pends thy making or marring to all eternhy. 

But I shall nK»Ve particuiui ly show the necessity of 
conversion in^z^t^ things j fo:- without this, ' 

Fir^it-i ' Thy being is vain."* Is it not a pity that ^ 
thou shouldest be good for nothing, an unprofit^ible hnr-./j 
den of the earth, a wart or wen in the body of the 



Of the Necessity of Conversion. 37 

universe? Thus thou art whilst unconverted ; for thou 
canst not answer the end of thy being. Is it not for the 
divine pleasure that thou art and wert created ; Rtrv. iv. 

1 1. Did he not make thee for himself? Prov. xvi. 4. Art 
thou a man, and hast thou reason ? Why then, bethink 
thyself why and whence thy being is : Behold God's 
workmanship in thy body, and ask thyself, To what end 
did God rear this fabric ? Consider the noble faculties of 
thy heaven born soul : To what end did God bestow 
these excellencies? To no other than that thou shouldest 
please thyself^ and gratify thy senses? Did God serjd men 
like the swallows, into the world, only to gather a few 
sticks and dirt, and build their nests, and breed up their 
young, and then away? The very heathens could see 
farther than this. *' Art thou so fearfully and wonderful- 
ly made," Psalm cxix. 14. and dost thou not yet think 
with thyself surely it was for some noble and high end ? 
O man ? set thy reason a little in the chair. Is it not 
pity such a goodly fabric should be raised in vain ? Ve- 
rily thou art in vain, except thou art for God : better 
thou hadst no being, than not to be for him. Wouldcst 
thou serve thy end ! Thou must repent and be convert- 
ed ; without this, thou art to no purpose, yea to bad pur- 
pose. 

First, To no purpose. Man unconverted is like a 
choice instrument that hath every string broke or out of 
tune. The Spirit of the living God must repair and tune 
it by the grace of regeneration, and sweetly move it by 
' the "power of actuating grace, or else thy prayers will be 
but bowlings, and all thy services will make no music in 
the ears of the most High. Ephes. ii. 10. Phil ii. 15. 
Hos.sii. 14 /5a. i. 15. All thy powers and ficukies are 
so corrupt in thy natural state, that except thou be 
purged from dead works, thou canst not serve the liv- 
ing God, /TeA ix. K Titus \. 15. 

An unsanctified man cannot fully work the work of 
God : he hath no skill in it ; he is altogether as unskil- 
ful in tlie work, as in the word of righteousness, Hf b. v. 
13. There are great mysteries as well in the practices 
as in the principles of godliness : now the unregenerate 
"know not the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,*' 



33 Of the Necessity of CoyiVE-Sisio-^. 

Matt. xiii. 1 1. I Tim. iii. 16 Alms-giving is not a ser- 
vice of God, but of vain-.:5lory, if not held forth by the 
hand of divine or penitendal love. What is the pri^yer 
of the lips, without ihe heart- but the carcase without the 
life? What are all our confessions, unless'they be ex- 
ercises of godly sorrowand unfeigned repentance? What 
our petitions unless animated all along with holy desires, 
and fdith in the divine attributes and promises ? \\ hat 
our praises and thanksgivings, unless fiom the love of 
God and a holy gratitude, and sense of God's mercies 
in tke heart ? So that a man may as well expect the tree 
should speak, or look for logic f -om brutes, or motion 
from the dead, as for any service holy and perfectly ac- 
ceptable to God, from thc'uncoi: verted. When the tree 
is evil, hov/ can the fruit be good ? Matt. vii. 18. 

Secondly, To bad purpose. The unconverted soul is 
a very cage of unclean birds, i?et'. xviii. 2. a sepulchre 
full of corruption and rottenness, JMatt. xxiii. 27. a loath- 
some carcase full of crawling worms, and sending forth 
a h liish and most noisome savour in the nostrils of Gcd, 
Psa'm xiv. 3. O dreadful case ! Dor>t thou not see a 
change to be needful ? Would it not have grieved one 
to have sptn the goldc-n consecrated vessels of God's 
temple turned into qu?.fnng bowls of drunkenness, and 
polluted with idol service ? Dan.v. 2,3. Was it such 
an ibomination to the Jews, when Antiochus set up the 
picture of a swine at the entrance of the temple ? How 
much more abominable then would it have been, to have 
had the very temple itself turned into a stable or a sty, 
and to have had the Holy of Holies served like the house 
of IJaal, and to have been turned into a draught-house? 
2 Kings X. 27. This is tl^e very case with the un regen- 
erate : all thy members are turned into instruments of 
unrighteousness, Rom. vi. 19. servants of Satan, and 
the inmost power into a receptacle of unclcanne3S,-£/:Af'*>, 
ii. 2. Titus i. 1 5. You n ay see the ungodly guests with- 
in by what comes out ; for, "out of the heart proceed 
evil thoughts, tnurder, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
false witness, blasphemies," ^c. these discover what a 
hell there is within. 

O ibise insuft'crable I to see a heaven-born soul abased 
to the ftlthisst drudgery 1 To sec the glory of Qod's crc- 



Of the Necessity of Conversion. 39 

&lion, the chief of the M'orks of God, the lord of the uni- 
verse, lapping wiih the prodigal at the trough, or lick- 
ing up with greediness the most loaifisome vomit ! Was 
it such a lamentation, to see those that did feed delicate- 
ly, sit desolate in the streets ; and the precious sons of 
Sion comparable to fine gold, esteemed but as earthen 
pitchers, and those that were cloathed in scarlet embrace 
dunghills 1 Lam. v. 2, 3. and is it not much more fearful 
to see the only thing that hath immortality in this lower 
world, and carries the stamp of God, become as *' a ves- 
sel -wherein there is no pleasure?" Jer. xxi. 28. (which 
is but a modest expression of the vessel men put to the 
most sordid use.) O indignity intolerable ! Better thou 
wert dashed in a thousand pieces, than cxjntinue to be 
abased to so filthy a service. 

Secondly^ " Not only man, but the whole visible crea- 
tion is in vain, without this." Beloved, God hath made 
all the visible creatures in heaven and earth for the ser- 
vice of man, and man only is the spokesman for all the 
rest. Man is in the universe, like the tongue to the body, 
which speaks for all its members. The other creatures 
cannot praise their Maker but by dumb signs and hints 
to man that he should speak for them. Man is as it 
were the high priest cf God's creation, to offer the sa- 
crifice oi praise for all his fellow-creatures. The Lord 
God expecteth a tribute of praise from all his works, 
Psalm ciii. 22. now all the rest do bring in their tribute 
to man, and pay it by his hand : so then if man be false, 
and faithless, and selfish, God is wronged of all. and shall 
have no active glory from his works. 

O dreadful thought to think of! that God should 
build such a world as this, and lay out such infinite pow- 
er, and wisdom, and goodness thereupon, and all in vain ; 
and that man should be guilty at last of robbing and 
spoiling him of the glory of all. O think of this ! 
Whilst thou art unconverted, all the offices cf the crea- 
tures to thee are in vain; thy meat nourisheth thee in 
vain, the s\m holds forth its light to thee^n vain, the stars 
that serve thee in their courses by their powerful, though 
hidden influence. Judges v. 20. Hosea ii. 21,22. do it in 
vain : thy clotbes warm thee in vain ; thv beast carries 



40 Of ike Necessity of Conversion. 

thee in vain. In a word, jthe unwearied labour and con- 
tinued travail of the whole creation, as to thee, is in vain. 
The service of all tHc ci^eatures that drudge for thee, and 
yield forth their strength unto thee, that therewith thou 
shouldest serve their Maker, is all but lost labour. Henca 
the whole creation groaneth under the abuse of this un- 
sanctified world, Rom. viii. 22. that perverts them to the 
service of their lusts, quite contrary to the very end of 
their being. 

Thirdly, " Without this thy religion is vain,'* Jamea 
i. 26. All thy religious performances will be but lost, 
for they cannot save tny soul, 1 Cor. xiii. 2, 3. which is 
the very end of religion. Is not that man's case dread- 
ful whose sacrifices are as murders, and whose prayers 
are a breath of abomination, Isa. Ixvi. 3. Frov. xxviii. 9. 
Many under convictions think they will set upon mend- 
ing, and that a few prayers and alms will save all again j 
but alas ! Sirs, while your hearts remain unsanctified, 
your duties will not pass. How punctual was Jehu ? 
And yet all was rejected, because his heart was not up- 
right, 2 Kirf^s X. with Hosea i. 4. How blameless was 
Paul ? And yet being unconverted, all was but loss, Phil. 
iii. 6, 7. Men think they do much in attending God's 
service, and are ready to twit him with it, Isaiah Iviii. 3. 
Mail. vii. 22. and set him down so much their debtor, 
whereas their persons being unsanctified, their duties 
cannot be saving. 

O soul ! do not think when thy sins pursue thee, a Ik- 
tle praying and reforming thy course will pacify God : 
thou must begin with thy heart ; if that be not renewed, 
thoii canst not please God. 

God threatens it as the greatest of temporal' judg- 
ments, that they should build and not inhabit, plant and 
not gather ; and that their labours should be eat up by 
strangers, Deitt. xxyiii. 30. 38. 39. 41. Is it so great a 
misery to lose our common labours, to sow in vain, and 
build in vain ? how much more to lose our pains m reli- 
gion, to pray, and hear, and fast in vain ? This is an un- 
doing and eternal loss. Be not deceived, if thou goest 
on in thy sinftil state, though thou shouldest spread forth 
thine hands, God will hide his eyes ; though thou make 



Of the Necessity ^Conversion. 41 

many prayers, he will not hear, /sa. i. 15. If a man 
. without skill set about our work, and mar it in the doing 
though he takes much pains, we give him but Utile 
thanks. God will be worshipped after the due order, 
1 Chron. xv. 13. If a servant do our work, but quite con- 
trary to our order, he will have rather stripes than praise. 
God's work must be done according to God's mind, or 
lie will not be pleased ; and this cannot bes except it 
be done with a believing or penitential heart, 2 Chron. 
XXV. 2. 

Fourthly^ " Without this thy hopes are in vain." Job 
viii. 1 2, 13. *' The Lord hath rejected thy confidence," 
Jer. ii. 37. 

First, " The hope of comforts here are in vain." It 
is not only. necessary to the safety, but comfort of your 
rfcondiiion, that you be converted. Without this, "you 
shall not know peace," Isa. lix. 8. without the fear of 
God you cannot have " the comfort of the Holy Ghost," 
Actsiyi. 31. God speaks peace only to his people, and 
to his saints, Psalm Ixxxv. 8. If vou have a f.ilse peace, 
continuing in your sins. It is not of God's spe king, and 
then you may guess the author : Sin is a real bickness, 
laa. i. 5. yea, the worst of sickness: it is a leprosy in 
the head, Lev. xiii. 44. the pLigud in the heart, 1 Kini^s 
viii. 38. it is biokenncss in the bones, P^a/m li. 8. it 
piercelh, it woundeth, it racketh, it tormenteih, 1 Tim. 
Ml. 10. ^A man may as well expect case when his dis- 
tempers are in their full .stiengin, or his bones out of 
joint as true comfort while in his sins. 

O wretched man ! that canst have no ease in this case 
but what comes from the deadliness of Ihy disease. You 
shall have the poor sick man saying in his lightness, / 
am ivell ; when you see death in his face, he will needs 
up and about his business, when the very next s.ep is 
like to be in his grave. The unsanclihed often see noth- 
ing amiss ; tbyy think themselves whole, and cry not 
out for the Physician ; but this shews the danger of 
their case. 

Sin doth naturally breed distempers and disturbance^ 
in the soul. What a continual tempest and commotion 
is there in a discontented mind 1 What an eating evil is 
D 2 



42 Of the Necessity (j/' Conversion. 

inordinate eare 1 What is passion, but a fever in the 
mind ? What is lust, but a fire in the bones ? What is 
pride, but a deadly tympany ? Or (!ovelousness, but an 
insatiable or unsufferable thirst ? Or malice, and envy, 
but venom in the very heart ? Spiritual sloth is but a 
S€urvy in the mind ; and carnal security a mortal leth- 
argy ; and how can that soul have true comfort that la- 
bours under so many diseases ; But convening grace 
cures, and so eases the mind : prepares the soul for a 
settled standing, and immortal peace ; " great peace 
have they that love thy commandments,and nothing shall 
offend them,P«a/mcxix. 165. they are the ways of wis- 
dom that afford pleasure and peace, Prov, iii. 17 David 
had infinitely more pleasure in the word, than in all the 
delights of his court, Psalm cxix. 103, 127. The icon- 
science cannot be truly pacified till soundly purified^ 
Ileb. X. 22. Cursed is that peace that is maintained in a 
way of sin, Deut. xxix. 1 9, 20. Two sorts of peace are 
more to be dreaded than all the troubles in the world, 
per.ce with sin, and peace in sin. 

Secondly, *' Thy hopes of salvation hereafter are in 
vain, yea worse than in vain ," they are most injurious 
to God, most pernicious to thyself. There is death, sep- 
aration, blasphemy, in the bowels of this hope. 1 . There 
is death in it : " Thy confidence shall be rooted out of 
thy tabernacles." (God will up with it root and branch) 
*' It shall bring them to the king of terrors^" Job xviii. 
14. Though thou mayest lean upon this house it will 
not stand, J^o/i viii. 15. but will prove like a ruinous 
building, which when a man trusts to,. falls down about 
his ears. 2. There is desparaiion in it: "Where is 
the hope of the hypocrite, whenGodtaklesaway his soul ?** 
Jo6'xxvii. 8. then there is an end forever of this hope : 
Indeed the^-ope of the righteous hath an end, but then 
it is not a destructive but a perfective end ; this hope 
ends in fruiiion, others in frustration^ Prov- x. 28. The 
godly must say at death, " Ii is finished ;" but the wick- 
ed, *' It is perished •" and in too sad earnest himself, as 
£.s Job in a mistake ; " where is now my hope ? He hath 
" destroyed me, 1 am gone, and my hope is removed like 
a tree, Job xix. 10. The righteous hath hope in liis 



of the Neccssiii) <2/^Conv£rsion. 43 

death, Prov. xiv. 32. When nature is clyh»j^, his hopes 
are living, when his body is languishing, his hopes are 
flourishing: his hope is a living hope, 1 Pet. i. 3. but 
the other's is a (lying, a damning, soul undoing hope. 
" When a wicked man dielh, his expectation shall pe- 
rish and the hope of unjust men pf risheth," Ptqv xi. 
7. " It shall be cut off, and prove like the spider's web," 
Job \\\\. 14. which he spins out of. his own bowels ; but 
then comes death with the broom and takes down all, 
and so there is an eternal end of his confidence wherein 
he trusted ; " For the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and 
their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost,'* Jio 
xi. 20. Wicked men are hxed in their carnal hope, 
and will not be beaten out of it ; they hold it fast, they w ill 
not let it go ; yea, but death will knock off their fingers ; 
tho' we cannot undeceive them, death and judgment will : 
when death strikes his dart through thy liver, it will 
pierce thy soul and thy hopes together. The unsancti- 
lied have hope only in this life, I Cor. xv. 19. and there- 
fore "are of all men most miserable." When death 
comes it lets them out into the amazing gulph of endless 
desparation. 3. " There is a blasphemy in it." To hope 
we shall be saved, though we cominuc unconverted, is 
to hope we shall prove God a liar. He hath told you, 
that so merciful and pitiful as he is, he will never save 
you notwithstanding, if you go on in ignorance, or a 
course of unrighteousness, /^a. xxvii. 11. 1 Cor. vi. 9. 
In a word, he hath told you, that whatever you be or do, 
nothing shall avail you to salvation, without you "be- 
come new creatures," Go/, vi. 15. Now; to say God 
is mercifulr and we hope will save us nevertheless, is in 
eft^ct to say, " We hope God will not do as he says.'* 
We musfnot set God's attributes at variance ; God is 
resolved to glorify his mercy, but not to the prejudice of 
his truth, as the presumptious sinner will find to his ev- 
erlasting sorrow. 

Objection. Why, but we hope in Jesus Christ, we put 
our whole trust in God, and therefore doubt not but we 
shall be saved. 

Answer, \ . " This is not to hope in Christ but against 
Christ." To hope to see the kingdon* of God ^viihuut 
being born again, to hope to find eternal life in the broad 



4i Q/t/ic Xeccssih/ ^3/" Conversion. 

way, is to hope C'lrist will prove a f:ilse propHet. It is 
Z^avm'* plea. "I hope in thy word." /^6c//;« cxix. 8 1. 
bat this hope is against t!ie word. Shew nie a word of ^ 
Chriat for thy hope, that he will save thee in thy ignor- 
ance or profane neglect of his service,' and I will never 
go to shake thy confidence. 

2. ''God doth with abhorrence reject this hope.'* 
Those condemned in the prophet went on in their sins, 
yet, saiih the text, " they will lean upon the Lord.*' Mic. 
iii. 1 1 God will not eTuKire to be made a prop to men 
in their sins ; the Lord rejected those presumptuous sin- 
iiers that went on siill in their trespasses, and yet could 
stay themselves upon hracTs God, /.sa. xviii. 1,2 as a 
man should shake off the briers (as one said well) that 
cleave to his garment. 

3. "If thy hope be any thing worth, it will purify 
thee from thy sins,'* 1 John iii. 3. but cursed is that hope 
that cherishes men in their sins. 

Objection. Would you have us to despair ? 

Jm7ver. You must despair of ever com.ing to heaven 
as you are, ^cts ii. 37. that is while you remain uncon- 
verted. You must despair of ever seeing the Lee of 
God without holiness : but you must by no mieans des- 
pair of finding mercy, upon your thorough repentance 
and conversion ; neither may you despair of attaining to 
repentance and conversion in the use of God's means. 

Fifthhu " Without this, all that God hath done and 
suffered, will be as to you, in vain,'* John xiii. 8. Titus 
ii. 14. that is, it will no way avail to your salvation. 
Majiy urge this as a sufficient ground for their hopes, 
t'lat Christ died for sinners: but I must tell you, Christ 
never died to save impenitent and unconverted sinners, 
so continuing, 2 Tim. ii. 19. A great divine was wont, 
in his private dealings with souls, to ask two questions ; 
'1st, What hath Christ doneforyou? 2d, What hath Christ 
wrought in you ? Without the application of the Spirit 
in regeneration, we can have no saving interest in the 
benefits of redemption. I tell you from the Lord, Christ 
himself cannot save you, if you go on in this state. 

I. " It were against his trust." The Mediator is the 
servant of the Father, ha. xlii. 1 . shews his commission 



Of the Neeessity of Conversion. 45 

from him, acts in his name, and pleads his co^«mand for 
his justification, John x. 18, 26, and vi. 38,40. and God 
"has committed all things unto him," entrusted his own 
glory and the salvation of souls with him/' Mattheiv xii. 
27. John xvii. 2. Accordingly Christ gives his Father 
an account of both parts of his trust before he leaves the 
world, John xvii. 4, 6, 12. Now Christ would quite cross 
his Father*s glory, his greatest trust if he should save 
men in their sins ; for this were to overturn all his coun- 
sels, and to offer violence to all his attributes. 

First, "to overturn all his counsels,'* of which this is 
the order, that men should be brought '* through sancti- 
fication to salvation, '^^hess. ii. 13. He hath chosen 
them that they should be holy," £/ih. i. 4. They arc 
chosen to life through sanctification, 1 Pet. i. 2. If thou 
canst repeal the law of God*s immutable counsel, or cor- 
rupt him whom the Father hath sealed, to go directly 
against his commission, then, and not otherwise, mayest 
thou get to heaven in this condition. To hope that 
Christ will save thee whilst unconverted, is to hope that 
Christ will falsify his trust. Be assured, Christ will 
save none in a way contrary to his Father's will. 

Secondly, " To offer violence to all his attributes." 1 . 
<' To his justice:" for the righteousness of God*s judg- 
ment lies in " rendering to all according to their works," 
Romans ii. 5, 6. Now should men '> sow to the flesh, and 
yet of the Spirit reap everlasting life," Gal. vi- 7. 8. 
where were the glory of divine justice, since it should 
be given to the wicked according to the work of the right- 
eous ? 2. ''To his holiness.'* If God should net only 
save sinners, but save ihem in their sins, his most pure 
and'Strict hoiiness would be exceedingly defaced : the 
unsanctified is in the eyes cfG-.-d's holiness, worse than 
a swine or viper, iVa/^/zcw^xi'. 34. 2 Pei. ii. 22. It would 
be offering the extremest violence to the infinite purity 
of the divine nature to have .«^uch to dwell with him ; 
they cannot stand in his judgment '^they cannot abide 
his presence " Psalm i\ 5. and v. 4,5. If holy David 
would not endure such in his house, no nor his sight, 
Psalm cxxxi. 3 7. can we think God will? 3. "To 
his veracity." For God hath declared from heaven, 
that " if any shall say he shall have peace, though hr 



46 Of the NecessUy r/ Conversion. 

go on in the imagination of his heart his wrath shall 
snnoak against that man,*' Deut xxix. 1 9, 20. that '' they 
(only) that Confess and forsake their sins shall find mer- 
cy." Proverbs xxviii. 13. that " they that shall enter in- 
to his hill, must be of clean hands and a pure heart," 
P&o/w xxiv. 3, 4. Where were God's truth, if, not- 
withstanding all this, he should bring men to salvation 
without conversion ? C) desperate sinner ! that darest to 
hope that Christ will lie to his Father, and "falsify his 
word to save thee. 4. '' To his wisdom :" For this were 
10 throw away the choicest mercies on^hem who would 
not value them, nor were any way suited to them. 

First, " They would not value them." The impeni- 
tent sinner puts but little price upon God's great salva- 
tion, Matthetvyi^Lii. 5. He sets no more by Christ than 
the whole by the physician, Mattheio ix- 12. He prizes 
not his balm, values not his cure, tramples upon his 
blood, Hebrews x. 29. Now would it stand with wisdom 
to force pardon and life upon those who w^uld give no 
thanks for them ? Would the all-wise God, when he hath 
forbidden us to do it, '' throw his holy things to dogs, 
and his pearls to swine, that would, as it were, but turrt 
again and rend him ?" Mattheiv vii. 6. This would make 
mercy to be despised indeed. Wisdom requires that 
eternal life be given in a way suitable to God's honour 
and that God should secure his own glory as well as 
man's felicity. — God would lose the praise and glory of 
his grace, if he should cast it away on them that were 
not only unworthy but unwilling. 

Secondly, " They are no ways suited to them." The 
divine wisdom is seen in suiting things to each other, the 
means to the end, the object to the faculty, the quality 
of the gift to the capacity of the receiver. Alas ! what 
should an unsanctified creature do in lieaven ? He could 
take no content there, because nothing suits him : The 
place doth not suit him, he would be quite out of his ele- 
ment ; the, company doth not suit him : " What com- 
munion hath darkness with light," corruption with per- 
fection, filth and rottenness with glory and immortality ? 
The employment doth not suit him ; the anthems of 
heaven fit not his mouth, please not his ear. Canst thou 



Of the Necessity of Conversion. 47 

charm thy beast with music ? Or wilt thou brmg him to 
thy organ, and expect that he should make thee nielody 
or keep time with the tuneful choir ? Spread thy t^ibles 
with delicates before a languishing patient, and it will 
give him great offence. Alas 1 if the poor man thinks 
a sermonlong. and says of the sabbath, "What a wea- 
riness is it I Afa/. i. 31 how miserable would he think 
it to be held to it to all eternity ? 

5. '' To his immutabilitvj or else to his omnisciency 
or omnipotency :*' For this is enacted in the conclave 
of heaven, and enrolled in the decrees of the ccurt 
above, " that none but the pure hi heart shall ever see 
God," Matthew v. 8. This is laid up with him and seal- 
ed among his treasures. Now, if Christ yet biJng any 
to heaven unconverted, cither jie must get them in 
without his Father's knowledge, (and then where is his 
omnisciency ?) or against his will (and then where \% 
his omnipotency ?) or he must change his will, (and then 
where is his immutability ?) 

Sinner, wilt thou not give up thy vain hope of being 
aaved in this condition ? Saith Bildad, " shijll the earth 
be forsaken for thee ? or the rocks moved out of their 
place ?" Job xviii. 4. May I not much more reason so 
with thee? Shall the laws of heaven be reversed for 
thee ? Shall the everlasting foundations be overturned 
for thee? Shall Christ put out the eye of his P^nher's 
omnisciency, or shorten the arm of his eternal power 
for thee ? Shall divine justice be violated for thee ? Or 
the brightness of the glory of his holiness be blemished 
for thee ? O the impossibility, absurdity, and blasphemy 
that is in such a confidence ! To think Christ will ever 
save thee in this condition is to make thy Saviour to be- 
come a sinner, and to do more wrong to the infinite Ma- 
jesty than all the wicked on eiirth, or devils in hell ever 
did, or could do : and yet wilt thou not give up such a 
blasphemous liope ? 

II. " Against his word." We need net say, " Who 
shall ascend into heaven, tobring down Christ from above? 
Or, who shall descend into the deep, to bring up Clnist 
from beneath ? The word is nigh us." Romans x. 6 7, 
8. Are you agreed that Christ shall end the contro- 
versy I Hear then his own wordt : ^' Except you be con- 



48 Of the Necessitij of Conversion. 

verted, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of 
heaven," Matthew xviii. 3. " You must be born again," 
John iii. 7. " If I wash thee not thou hast no part in me," 
John-^ii. 8. " Repent or perish," Luke xiii. 3. One word 
one would think, were enough from Christ ; but how 
often and earnestly doth he reiterate it ! " Verily, verily, 
except a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom 
of God," John iii. 3, 5. Yea, he doth not only assert 
but prove the necessity of the new birth, John iii. 6. 
without which man is no more fit for the kingdom of 
heaven than a beast is for the king's presence-chamber. 
And wilt thou yet believe thy own presumptuous confi- 
cjence, directly against Christ's words ? He must go 
quite agai 1st the law of his kingdom and rule of his 
judgment, to save thee in this state. 

III. " Against his oath." He hath lifted up his 
hand to heaven, he hath sworn that those that remain 
in unbelief, and know not his ways, that is, are ignorant 
of them, or disobedient to them, '^ shall not enter into 
his rest," Paalm xcv. 1 1. Hebrews iii. 4 1. And wiltthou 
not yet believe, O sinner ! that he is in earnest ? Canst 
thou hope he will be forsworn for thee ? The covenant 
of grace is confirmed by an oath, and sealed by the 
blood, Hebrews vi. 17. and ix. 16, 18, 19. Matthew -^yi^i. 
28. butallnmst be made void, and another way to hea- 
ven found out, if thou be saved living and dying uns tnc- 
lified. Men cannot be savetl while unconverted, except 
they could get another covenant made, and the whole 
fr^me of the gospel, which was established for ever with 
such dreadful solemnities, quite altered : and would not 
they be distracted to hope that they shall ? 

IV. " Against his honour." God will so shew his 
love to the sinner, as withal to shew his hatred to sin ; 
therefore ■' he thatnames the name of Jesus must depart 
from iniquity," 2 Tiin. ii. 19. and deny all ungodliness. 
And he that hath hope of life by Christ, must " paiify 
himself as he is pure," I John iii. 3. Tit. ii. 12. other- 
wise Christ would be thought a favourer of sin. The 
liOrd Jesus would have all the world to know, that though 
hc/iardons sin, he will not /irotect it. if holy David shall 
say, " Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity/* 



Of the Necessity o/'CoNVERSIO^^ 49 

Fsalm vi. 8. and shall shut the doors against^ them, 
Psalm ci. 7. shall not such much more expect it from 
Christ's holiness 1 Would it be to his honour to have the 
dogs to the table, or lodge the swine with his children, 
or to have Abraham's bosom to be a nest of vipers ? 

V. "Against his oflices." God hath exalted him 
"to be a prince and a Saviour," Acts v. 31. He would 
act against both, should he save men in their sins : It is 
the office of a king, "to be a terror to evil doers, and a 
praise to them that do well,'* Rom. xiii. 3. 4. " He is 
a minister of God, a revenger, to execute wrath on him 
that doth evil." Now, should Christ favour the ungod- 
ly, (so continuing;) and take those to reign with him 
" that would not that he should reign over them," Luke 
xix. 2f . this would be quite against his office. He there- 
fore reigns that ho may "put his enemies under his feet," 
1 Cor.kv. 25. Now, should he lay them in his bosom, 
he would cross the end of his regal power : it belongs 
to Christ as a king, to subdue the hearts and slay the 
lusts of his people. Psabn xlv. 5. and ex. 3. Whet king 
would take rebels in open hostility into his court ? What 
were this but to betray life, kingdom, government, 
and altogether ? If Christ be a king,'he must have hon- 
our, homage, subjection, Sec. Mai. i. 6. Now to save 
men while in their natural enmity, were to obscure his 
dignity, lose his authority, b'ing contempt on his gov- 
ernment, and sell his dear bought rights for nought. 

Again ; as Christ would not be a Prince, so neither a 
Saviour, if he should do this ; for his salvation is spirit- 
ual : He is called Jesus, because he saves his people from 
their sins, Matt. i. 21. so that should he save them in 
their sins, he would neither be Lord nor Jc^.us. To 
save men from the punishment, and not from the power 
of sin, were to do his work by halves, and be an imper* 
feet Saviour. His office as the deliverer, is, " to turn 
away ungodliness from Jacob'* Ro?7i. xl. 26. He "is 
sent to bless men in turning them froir. their iniquilies," 
Acts. iii. 26. " To make an end of sin," Dan. ix. 25. so 
thit he should destroy his own designs, and nuhfy his 
offices, to save men abiding in their unconverted state. 
E 



50 OftJie Necessiii; (^TConvehsion. 

Application. Arise then: What meanest thou, O 
sleeper I Awake, O secure sinner 1 lest thou be consum- 
ed in thine iniquities ; say as the lepers, "H we sit here 
\ve shall die," King.^ vii. 3, 4. Verily, it is not more cer- 
tain that thou art now out of hell, than that thou shalt 
speedily be in it, except thou repent and be converted ; 
there is but this one door for thee to escape by. Arise 
then, Osluf^gard, and shake off thine excuses ; how long 
■wilt thou slumber, and fold thy hands to sleep? Prov. 
vi. 10, 11. Wilt thou lie down in the midst of the seaj 
or sleep on the top of the mast ? Prov. xxiii. 34. There 
is no remedy, but thou must either turn or burn. There 
is an unchangeable necessity of the change of thy con- 
dition except thou art resolved to abide the worst gf it, 
and try it out with the Almighty. If thou lovest thy 
life, O man, arise and come away. Methinks I see the 
Lord Jesus laying the merciful h-tndsof a holy violence 
upon thee ; methinks he carries it like the angels to Lot, 
Gen. xix. 15. Sec. '* Then the angels hastened Lot, say- 
ing, Arise lest thou be consumed. And while he ling- 
ered, the men laid, hold upcnhis hand, the Lord being 
inerciful unto him, and they brought him without the 
city, and said, Escape for thy life, stay not .in all the 
plain, escape to the mountains, lest thou be consumed." 
O, lio'.v wilful will thy destriicticm be, if thou should 
yet harden thyself in thy sinful state 1 But none of you 
can say but you have had fair warning. Yet methinks 
I cannot tell how to leave you so. It is not enough for 
ine to have delivered my own soul. What ! shall I go 
away without my errand ? Will none of you arise and 
follow me ? Have I been all this while speaking to the 
wind ? Have I been charming the deaf adder, or allaying 
the troubled ocean with arguments? Do I speak to the 
trees and rocks, or to men ? To the tombs and monu^ 
anents of ihe dead, or to a living auditory ? If you be men, 
and not senseless stocks, stand still and consider whither 
- you are going : If you have the reason and understand- 
ing ofmeTi, dare not to run into the flames, and fall into 
hell with yiur eyes open, but bethink yourselves, and set 



Of the Neccssiiij of Co^' version. b 1 

to the work of repentance. What! men, and yet run 
into the pit, when the very beasts would not be forced in ? 
What, endowed with reasen, and yet dally with death 
and hell, and the vengeSnce of the Almighty ! Are men 
herein distinguished from the very brutes, that they 
have no foresight of and care to provide for the tl.ings to 
come : And will you not hasten your escape fiom eter- 
nal torments? O ! shew yourselves men, and let rcusdii 
prevail with you : is it a reasonable ihino^ for you U* 
"contend against the Lord your Maker r' /.sa. >;iv. 9. 
or "to harden yourselves a»2;ainst his word," Joh ix. 4.. 
^^s though " the strength of Israel would lie i" 1 Sa??:. 
XV. 29. Is it reubonahle that an understanding cieatui'e 
should lose, yea, live quite against ihe vei y end of his 
being, and be as a broken pitcher only fit for the dung- 
hill ? Is it reasonable thiit the only thing in this woild 
that God hath made capable of knowing his will, and 
bringing him glory, should yet live in ignorance ot his 
Maker, and be unserviceable to his use ? Yea, should be 
engaged against him, and spit his venom in tlui face of 
his Creator ? " Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O eanh," 
and let the creatures without sense be judge if this be 
reason, that man, whom God hath "nourished and 
brought up, should rebel against him," ha. i. 2. Judge 
in your own selves : is it a reasonable undertaking for 
briers and thorns to set themselves in battle agaii'ist ihe 
devouring Wvct ha. xxvii. 4. or for "the potsherd of 
the earth to strive with its maker?" You will say, Thi-i 
is not reason, or surely the eye of reason is quite put out : 
and if this be not reason, then there is no reason that 
yon should continue as you are, but it is all the reason iu 
the world you should forthwith turn and repent. 

What shall I say ? I could spend myself in this argu- 
ment. O that you would hearkeij to me ! That you would 
presently set upon a new course ! Will ycu be made 
clean? when shall it once be? What! will nobody 
be persuaded ? Reader, shall I prevail with thee for 
one? wik thou sit down and consider the forem^ntion- 
ed argument, and debate it. v/hether it be not best to 
turn : come, and let us reason top;ether : Is it good for 
thee to be here ? wilt thou sit till tiic tide comes in upon 



rZ 



Of the Nccessiii) ^2/^ Conversion. 



thee ? Is it good for thee to try whether God will be so 
i^ood as his word, and to harden thyself in a conceit that 
all is well with thee, while thou remainest unsanctified? 

But I know you will not be persuaded, but the great- 
est part will be as they have been, and do as they have 
done. I know the drunkard will turn to his vomit again, 
und the deceiver to his deceit again, and the lustful wan- , 
ton, to his dalliance again. Alas ! that I nnust leave ycu 
where you were, in your ignorance or looseness, or in 
your lifeless formality and customary devotions ! How- 
ever, I will sit down and bemoan my fruitless labours, 
and spend some sighs over my perishing hearers. 

O distracted sinners ! What will their end be ? what 
will they do in t'.e day of visitation ? "Whither wilt 
ihey flee for help ? Where will they leave their glory f" 
Isa. X. 3. Ilow powerfully hath sin bewitched them I 
how clieciually hath the God of this world blinded 
them ! how strong is the delusion ! how uncircumcised 
their ears ! how obdurate their hearts ! Satan hath them 
at his beck. But how long may I call, and can get no 
answer? I may dispute with them year after year, and 
they will give me the hearing, and that is all ; they must 
and will have their sins, say what I will ; though I tell 
them there is death in the cup, yet they will tcke it up ; 
though I tell them it is the broad way, and endeth in 
destruction, yet they will go on in it ; I warn them, yet 
cannot win them. Sometimes I think the mercies of 
God will melt them, and his winning invitations will 
overcome them ; but I find them as they were : Some- 
times tliat the terror of the Lord will persuade them ; 
yet neither will do this. They will approve the word, 
like the sermon, commend the preacher, but they will 
yet live as they did. They will not deny me, and yet 
they will not obey me. They will flock to the word of 
God, and sit before me as his people, and hear my words, 
but they will not do them. They value and will plead 
for ministers, and I am to them as the lovely song of one 
that hath a pleasant voice, yet I cannot get them to come 
under Christ's yoke. They love*me, and will be ready 
to say they will do any thing for me ; but, for my life, I 
cannot persuade them to leave their sinsjtoforegotheirevil 



The Marks of the UisCOnverted. 5q 

company, their injemperance, their unjust gains, kc. I 
cannot prevail with them to set up prayer in iheir fami- 
lies and closets, yet they will promise me, like the fro- 
Avard son, that said, " 1 go, Sir, but went not," Matt, 
xxi. 30. I cannot persuade them to learn tlie principles 
of religion, though else, " they would die without know- 
ledge," Job xxxvi. 12. I tell them their misery, but 
they will not believe but it is well enough : If I tell them 
particularly, I fear, for such reasons, their estate is bad, 
they will judge mc censorious; or if they be at present 
a little awakened, are quickly lulled asleep by Satan 
again, and have lost the sense of all. 
• Alas, for my poor hearers I Must they perish at last 
by hundreds, when ministers would so fain save them ; 
What course shall I use with them, that I have not tri- 
ed ? " What shall I do for the daughter of my people?" 
Jer. ix. 7. " O Lord God, help. Alas ! shall I leave 
them thus ? If they will not hear n)e, yet do thou hear 
nie : O that they may yet live in thy sight 1 Lord save 
them, cr else they perish. iMy heart wcidd melt to see 
their houses on fire about their ears, when ihcy were 
fast asleep in their beds ; and shall not my soul be mov- 
ed within me to see them fulling into endless perdition 1 
Lord have compassion, and save them cut of the burn- 
ing; put forth thy divine power, and the work will be 
done ; but as for me, I cannot pfo\ ail. 

CHAP. IV. 

She%ving the marks of the Uxc on verted. 

WHILE we keep aloof in general, there is little 
fruit to be expected, it is the hand fij;hl ihat 
doth execution. David is not awakened by the prophf:t's 
hovering at a distance in parabolicol iiisinuaticns , he is 
forced to close with him, and tell him plainly, ** Thcni 
art the man," Few w ill in words deny the necessitv of* 
the new birth, but they have a self-deludir.j? conhdeTice 
that the work is nor now to do. And becr-use thfcy 
know themselves free from that gross hypocrisy which 
K 2 



54 The Marks of the Unconverted. 

takes up religion merely for a colour to deceive others, 
and for covering of wicked designs, they are confident of 
their sincerity,and suspeclnot that more close hypocrisy 
(wherein the greatest danger lies) by which a man dc- 
ceiveth his own soul, James i. 26. But man's deceitful 
heart is such a matchless cheat and self-delusion, so 
reigning and so fatal a disease, that I know not whether 
be the greater, the difficulty, disagreeable"ness, or the 
necessity of the undeceiving work that I am now upon. 
Alas, for my unconverted hearers ! They must be un- 
deceived or undone. But how shall this be effected ? 

" Help, O all-searching Light, and let thy discerniBg 
eye discover the rotten foundation of the self-deceiver ; 
and lead me, O Lord God, as thou didst the prophet, 
into the chambers of imagery, and digthrough the wall 
of sinners hearts, and discover the hidden abominations 
ihat^re lurking out of sight in the dark. O send thy 
angel before me, to open the sundry wards of their 
hearts, as thou didst before Peter, and make even the 
iron gates to fly open of their own accord. And, as Jon- 
athan no sooner tasted the honey but his eyes were en- 
lightened ; so grant, O Lord, that when the poor de- 
ceived souls, with whom I have to do, shall cast their 
eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated, 
-and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they 
may see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and 
be converted, and thou mayestheal them." 

This must be premised before we proceed to the dis- 
covery, that it is most certain men may have a confident 
persuasion that their hearts and states be good, and yet 
be unsound. Hear the Truth himself, who shews in La- 
odicea's case, that men may be *' wretched and miserable, 
•and poor, and blind, and naked," and yet not knovr it ; 
yea, they may be confident they are *' rieh, and increased 
in grace," i?ex'. iii. 17. "There is a generation that are 
pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their 
filthiness," Pror. XXX. 12. Who better persuaded of 
"his case than Paul, while he yet remained unconverted ? 
Rom. vii. 9. So that they are miserably deceived that 
take a strong confidence for a sufficient evidence. They 
that have no better proof than barely a strong persuasion 



The Marks of the Unconverted. bo 

that they are converted, are certainly as yet strangers to 
conversion. 

Bat to come more close ; As it was said of the adhe- 
rents to Antichrist, so here ; some of the unconverted 
carry their marks in their foreheads, more openly, and 
some in their hands, more covertly. The apostie reck- 
ons up some upon whom he writes the sentence of death ; 
as in these dreadful catalogues, which I beseech you to 
attend to with all diligence. — Efih. v. 5,6. '* For this 
ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor 
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in 
-the kingdomof Christ and of God. Let no man deceive 
you with vain words, for because of these things cometh 
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedient^ — 
Hev. xxi. 8. " But the fearful, and unbelieving,»ad 
abominable and murderers, and whoremongers, zxJHk- 
cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, ^hall have their part 
in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone ; which is 
the second death." — I Cor. vi./O, 10. "Know ye not 
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of 
God ? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idola- 
tors, or adulterers^ nor effeminate, nor abusers of them- 
selves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor 
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit 
the kingdom of God:" see Ga/. v. 19 — 21. Woe to 
them that have their names written in these black rolls ; 
such may know as certainly as if God had told them 
from heaven, that they are unsanctified, and under an 
impossibility of being saved in this condition. 

There are then these several sorts that (past all dis- 
pute) are unconverted ; they carry their marks in their 
foreheads. 

1. The t7hc/<?an. These are ever reckoned among the 
goatsy and have their names, whoever is left out, in all 
the before-mentioned catalogues, -t/zA.v. 5. /?c^i;. xxi. 8. 
1 Cor. vi. 9. 10. 

2. T\\Q Covetous. These are ever branded for /rfo/a/^r*, 
and the doors of the kingdom are shut against them by- 
name, Efih. V. 5. Col. iii. 5. I Cor. vi. 6, 10. 

3. Drunkards. Not only such as drink away their 
reason, but withal (yea, above all) suc^ as are too strong 



56 The Alarks of the Uncokvrrted. 

even for strong drink : the Lord fills his mouth with 
woes at^ainst these, and declares they *' have no inher- 
itance in the kingdom of God/'/sa.v. 11,12,22. Gal. 
V. 21. 

4. Liars. The God that cannot lie has told them, that 
there is no place for them in his kingdom, no en- 
trance into his hill ; but their portion is with the father 
of lies, whose children they are, in the lake of burnings, 
Psalm XV. I, 2. Rev. xxi. 8, 27. John viii. 44. Prov, vi. 
17. 

5. Sivearcrs. The end of these, without deep and 
speedy repentat^ce, is swift destruction, and most cer- 
tain and unavoidable condemnation, ./am(?s v. 12. Zech. 
V. U2,3. 

6. Railers and Backbiters^ that love to take up a re- 
proach against their neighbour, and fling all the dirt they 
can in his face, or else wound him secretly behind his 
back, Psalm xv. 1, 3. I Cor. vi. 10 and v. 1 1. 

7. Thieves^ extoriioners, and cp/iressors^ that grind the 
poor, over-reach their brethren when they have them 
at an advantage ; these must know that ^* God is the 
avenger of all such," 1 Thess. iv. 6. Hear, O ye false 
and purloining, and wasteful servants ; hear O ye de- 
ceitful tradesmen ; hear your sentence ; God will cer- 
tainly hold his door against you, and turn your treas- 
ures of unrighteousness into treasures of wrath, and 
make your ill-gotten silver and gold to torment you, 
like burning metal in your bowels, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. 
James v. 2, 3. 

8. "All that do ordinarily live in the profane neglect 
of God*s nvorshifi ;* that hear not his word, that call 
not on his name, that restrain prayer before God, that 
mind not their own nor their families souls, but *' live 
without God in the world," John viii. 47. Job xv. 4. 
Psalm xiv. 4. and Ixxix. 6. Efih. ii. 12. and iv. 18. 

9. "Those that are frequenters and lovers oi' com/iany.'* 
God hath declared he will be the destroyer of all such, 
and that they shall never enter into the hill of his rest, 
Prov. xiii. 20. and ix. S. Psalm xv. 4. 

10. Scoffers at religion, that make a scorn of precise 
'.valking, and mock at the messengers and diligent ser- 



' ^ The Marks of the Unconverted. 57 

vants of the Lord, and at their holy profession, and make 
themselves merry with the weakness and failings of pro- 
fessors. Hear, ye despisers your dreaded doomjPrcx'. 
xix. 29. and iii. 34. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. 

Sinner, consider diligently, whether thou art not to 
be found in one of these ranks; for if this be thy case, 
" thou art in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity ;*' 
for all these do carry their marks in their foreheads, and 
are undoubtedly the sons of death. And if so, the Lord 
pity our poor congregations ! O, how small a num.ber 
will be left when these ten sorts are taken out 1 Alas I 
on how many doors, on. how many faces must we write, 
*'Lord have mercy on usl" Sirs, what shift do you 
'make to keep up your confidence of your good state, 
when God from heaven declares against, and pronounces 
you in a state of damnation ? I would reason with you 
as God with them, " How canst thou say, I am not pol- 
luted?" Jer. ii. IS. " See thy way in the valley, know 
what thou hast done " Man, is not thy conscience privy 
to the tiHcks of deceit, to thy chamber pranks, to thy 
way of lying ? Yea, are not thy friends, thy family, thy 
neighbours, witness to thy profane neglect of God's 
worship, to thy covetous practices, to thy envious and 
malicious carriage ? May not they point at thee as thou 
goest. There goes a gaming prodigal : there goes a 
drunken A'abal^ a companion of evil-doers : there goes a 
railer, a scoffer, or a loose liver. Beloved, God hath 
written it as with a sun-hcam in the book by which you 
mu«,t be judged, that these are not the spots ©f his chil- 
dren I and that none such, except renewed by converting 
grace, shall ever escape the dauination of hell 

■ O that such as you would now be persuaded to "re- 
pent, and turn from all your transgressions, or else ini- 
qui^y'xvill be your ruin 1" Ezek. xviii. 30. Alas, for pcor 
hard'='ned sinners ! Musi I leave you at last where you 
were? Must I leave the tipler still at the ale-bench? 
Myst I leave the wanton still at his dalliance ? Must I 
leave the malicious still in his venom, and the drunkard 
still at his vomit ? However, you must know that you 
havf been warned, and that I am clear of your blood. 
And, '^ whether men will hear, or whethec-they will for- 



58 The Marks of the Unconve:!itei^. 

bear," I will leave the scriptures wi^h them, either as 
thunderbolts to awaken them, or as searinj^- irons to hard- 
en them to a reprobate sense, Psalm Ixviii. 21. " God 
shall wound ihe head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp 
of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses," Prov. 
xxix. 1. " He that beinjj often reproved hardeneth his 
neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without rem- 
edy," r/za/z. i. 24 &c. "Because I have called, and ye 
refused, I have stretclied out my hand, and no man re- 
f^ardedj Sec. I will mock at your calamity, when your de- . 
struction cometh as a whirlwind." 

And n»w I imagine many will begin to bless them- 
selves,and think all is well, because they cannot be charg- 
ed with the grosser evils before mentioned ; but I must 
further tell you, that there are another sort of unsanctifi- 
ed persons, that carry not their marks in their foreheads, 
but more secretly and covertly, in their hands ; these do 
frequently deceive themselves and others, and pass for 
good christians, when they are all the while unsound at 
bottom. Many pass undiscovered till death and judg- 
ment bring all to light. Those self-deceivers, seem to 
come even to heaven's gate with full confidence of their 
.admission ; and yet are shut out at last, Matt.\n> 22. 

Brethren beloved, I beseech you deeply to lay to heart, 
and firmly retain this awakening consideration, that 
multitudes miscarry by cherishing some secret sin, that 
is not only hidden from others, but, for want of searching 
their own hearts, even from themselves. A man may 
be free from open pollutions, and yet perish at last by 
some secret unobserved iniquity. And there be these 
twelve hidden sins, througli which souls go down by 
numbers into the chambers of death ; these you must 
search carefully for, and note them as black marks, 
wherever they be found discovering a graceless and un- 
converted state : And as you love your lives, read care- 
fully with a holy jealousy of yourselves, lest you should 
be the persons concerned. 

1. "Gross ignorance" O how many poor souls doth 
this sin kilLin the dark ! Hosea iv. 6. 'while they think 
verily they have good hearts, and are in the ready way 
to heaven ! This is the murderer that dispatches thous- 



The Marks of the Unconverted. 59 

acids in a silent manner, when, poor hearts I they sus- 
pect nothing, and see not the hand that destroys them. 
You shall find, whatever excuses you have for ignorance, 
that it is a soul undoing evil, Isa. xxvii. II. 2 Thesa. i. 

-8. 2 Cor. iv. 3. Ah I would it not have grieved a man's 
heart to have seen that woeful spectacle, when the poor 
protestants were shut up, a multitude together, in a barn, 
and a butcher comes with cruel hands, warmed in human 
blood, and leads them one by one, blindfold, to a block 
where he slew them, poor innocents ! one after another 
by scores in cold blood ? But how m/Uch more should 

* your hearts bleed to think of the hundreds in great con- 
gregations that ignorance doth butcher in secret, and 
lead blindfold to tho block ! Beware thisbr none of your 
case. INlake no plea for ignorance ; if you s])are that 
sin, know that it will not spare you ; ahd would a man 
take a murderer to his bosom ? 

2. " Secret reserves hi closing with Christ." To for- 
sake all for Christ, to " hate father and mother, yea, a 
man's own life" for hii?i, "This is a hard saying," 
Luke xiv, 26. Some will do much, but they will not 
be of the religion that will undo them ; thc) never come 
to be entirely devoted to Christ, uor fully to resign to 
him : they must have t .c ^weet sin ; they m.ean to do 
themselves no harm ; they have secret exceptions for 
life, liberty, or estate. Many take Christ thus, hand 
over head, and never consider his seif-denying terms, 
nor cast up thc cost ; and this error in the foundation 
mars all, and secretly ruins them forever, Luke xiv. 28. 
Matt, xviii. 21. 

• 3. " Formality in religion " Many stick in the dark, 
and rest in the outside of religion and in the external 
performances of holy duties, Matt, xxiii. 25. and this 
oftentimes doth most efl^ctually deceive men, and doth 
more certainly undo them than open looseness, as it was 
rn the Pharibce's ease, 71/tz;;. xxiii. 31. They hear, 
they fast, tlicy pray, they givealrrs, and therefore will 

. not believe but their case is good, Luke xviii. 3 I . v. here- 
as, resting in the work done, and coming short cf heart- 
work, and the inward power and life of religion, they fail 
at last into the burning, from the flattering hopes and 
confident periuasions of their being in the ready war to 



6o The Marks of the Unconverted 

heaven, Mdtt.yn. 22,2.1. O dreadful case, when a 
man's religion shall serve only to harden him, and effec- 
tually to delude and deceive his own soul ! 

5. *' The prevalence of false ends in holy duties,** 
3/a/r. xxiii. 25. This was the bane of the Pharisee. O 
how many poor so\als arc undone by this, and drop into 
hell before they discern their mistake 1 They perform 
good duties, and so think all is well ; but perceive not 
Unit they are actuated by carnal motives all the while. 
When the main thing that doth ordinarily carry a man 
o'4it to religious duties, shall be really some carnal end, 
as to satisfy his conscience, to %ti the repute of being 
religious, " to be seen of men,'* to shew his own gifts 
and piu'ts, to avoid ihe reproach of being a profane and 
irreligious person, or the like ; this discovers an un- 
sound heart, /ro.9(?a X. I. Zech, Vn 3,6. O professor! 
if you would avoid self deceit, see that you mind not on- 
ly your acts, but withal, yea, above all, your ends. 

5. " Trusting in your own righteousness," Xz/A^exviii. 
9. This is a soul undoing mischief, Rom x. 3. When 
men do trust in their own righteousness, they do indeed 
reject Christ's. Beloved, you had need be watchful on 
every hand ; for not only your sins but your duties may 
undo you. It m.iy be you never thought of this.: but so 
it is, that a man may as certainly miscarry by his seem- 
ing righteousness and supposed graces, as by gross sins ; 
and that is, when a man doth trust in these as his righte- 
ousness before God, for the satisfying his justice, appeas- 
ing his wrath, procuring his favour, and obtaining of his 
own pardon ; for this is to put Christ out of office, and 
lYiake a saviour of our own duties and graces. Beware 
of this, O professors I You are much in duties : but this 
one fly will spoil all the ointment. W^hcn you have 
done most and best, be sure go out of yourselves toChristi 
Faalm cxlii 2. Phil. iii. 9. ha. lxiv.6. jYch. xiii. 22. 

6. " Asecretenmity against the strictness of religion.*' 
Many moral persons, p'.nctualto their formal devotion 
have a bitter enmity against preciseness, and hate the life 
and power of religion, Phil, iii, 6. compared with Acts 
ix. I. They like not this forwardness, nor that men 
should keep such a stir in religion ; ihey condemn the 
strictness of religion as singularity, indiscretion, and in- 



The Marks of the Unconverted. Gl 

temperate zeal ; and with them a lively preacher, or a 
lively christian, is but a heady fellow. These men love 
not holiness as holiness, (for then they would love the 
height of holiness) and therefore are undoubtedly rotten 
at heart, whatever good opinion they have of themselves. 

7. " The resting in a certain pitch of religion.'* 
When they have 30 much as will save them (as they 
suppose) they look no farther, and so shew thelnsclves 
short of true grace, which will ever put men upon as- 
piring to farther perfection, Phil. iii. 13. Prov. iv. 18. 

8. " The predominant love of the world.'* This is 
the sure evidence of an unsanctified heart, Mark x. 22. 
1 John ii. 15. 

But how close doth this sin lurk oftentimes under the 
fair covert of forward profession ! Luke viii. 14. Yea, 
such a power of deceit is there in this sin, that many 
times, when every body else can see the man's world- 
liness and covetousness, he cannot see it himself, but 
hath so many colours, and excuses, and pretences for his 
eagerness on the world, that he doth blind his own eyes, 
and perish in his self-deceit. How many professors be 
there, with whom the world hath more of their hearts 
and affections than Christ ; " who mind earthly things," 
and thereby are evidently after the flesh, and like to end 
in destruction! Rom. vii. 5. Phil. iii. 19. Yet ask these 
men, and they will tell you confidently, they prize Christ 
above all ; God forbid else ! and see not their own earthly 
mindedness, for want of a narrowobservation of the work- 
ing of their own hearts. Did they but carefully search, 
they would quickly find that their greatest content is in 
the world, ZwAv xii. 19. and their greatest care and main 
endeavor is to get and secure the world ; which are the 
certain discoveries of an unconverted sinner. May the 
professing part of the world take earnest heed that they 
perish not by the hand of this sin, unobserved. Men may 
be, and often are kept off from Christ as effectually by 
the inordinate love of la'A^ul comforts, as by the most 
unlawful courses. Matt. xii. 5. Luke xiv. 10,24. 

9. "Reigning malice andenvy against those that dis-' 
respect them, and are injurious to them," 1 John ii. 9, 
U . O how do manv that seem to be religious, remem- 
F 



63 Tne Marks of ike Unconverted. 

bep injuries and carry grudges, and will return Tnen-as 
good as they bring, rendering evil for evil. loving'lo lake 
revenge, wishing evil to them that wrong them, directly 
Hgainsi the rule of the gospel, the pattern of Christ, and 
the nature of God, Rom. xii. 14. 17. 1 Pet. ii. 21, 23. 
.Vt'/:. ix. 17. Doubtless where this evil is kept, boiling 
in the heart, and is not hated, resisted, moriified, but 
doth habnually prevail, that person is in the very gall of 
bitterness, and in a state of death. Matt, xviii. 34, 35. I 
John iii. 14, 1 5. 

Reader, dolh nothing of this touch thee ? Art thou in 
none of the fore-mentioned ranks ? () search, and search 
again ; take thy heart solemnly to task : woe unto thee, 
if after thy profession thou shouldest be found under the 
power of ignorar.ce, lost in formality, drowned in earthly 
mindedness, envenomed with malice, exalted in an opin^- 
ion of thiae own righteousness, leavened with hypocri- 
sy and carnal ends in Gcd's service, inabittered against 
strictness ; this would be a sad discovery that all thy re- 
li«-ion were in vain. But I must proceed. 

10. *' Unmortified pride." When men love the praise 
oi men more than the praise of God, and set their hearts 
upon men's esteem, applause, and approbation, it is most 
certain they are yet in their sins, and strangers to true 
conversion, JohnyX\. 43. Gai.i. iO. O how secretly 
doth this sin live and reign in many hearts, and they 
know it not, but are very strangersto themselves 1 Jo/m 
ix. 40. 

11. "The prevailing- love of pleasure," 2 Tim. iii. 4. 
This is a black mark. When men give the flesh the lib- 
erty that it craves, and pamper and please it, and do not 
deny and restrain it ; when their great delight is in grat- 
ifying their bellies, and pleasing their senses. "Whatever 
appearances they may have of religion, all is unsound, 
/i?07«. xvi. 18. 7Y^. iii. 3. A flesh-pleasing life cannot 
be pleasing to God. " They that are Christ's have cru- 
cified the flesh," and are careful t > cross it, and keep 
it under as their enemy, Gal. v. 24. 1 Cor. ix. 25,27. 

12. '' Carnal security, or a presumptuous ungrounded 
confidence that their condition is already good," Rev. 
iii. 16. Many cry, j^eace, and safety, when sudden de- 
struction is coming upon them, I T/ie^s. y. 3. this was 



The Marks of the Unconverted. ^>o 

that which kept the foolish virgins sleeping when ihey. 
should have been working ; upon iheir beds, when they 
should have been at the markets, Matt. xxv. 5, 10. Pro-c. 
X. 5. They perceived not their want of oil till the 
bridegroom was come ; and while they went to buy 
the door was shut. And, O that these foolish virgir.s 
had no successors ! V/here is the place, yea, where is the 
house almost, where these do not dwell I Men are wil- 
ling to cherish in themselves, upon ever so lii^ht grounds, 
a hope that their condition is good, and so look not out 
after a change, and by this means perish in their sins. 
Are you at peace ? Shew me upon what grounds your 
peace is maintained* Is it scripture peace ? Can you 
shew the distinguishing marks of a sound believer ? 
Can you evidence that you have something more than 
any hypocrite in the world ever had? If not, fear this 
peace more than any trouble; and know, that a car- 
nal peace doth commonly prove the m.ost mortal enemy 
of the poor soul; and whilst it smiies and kisses, and 
spf aks fair, doth fatally smite it, as it were, ir.ider the 
iifth rib. 

By this time mcthink?,! hear my readers crying out 
with the disciples, " Who then shall be saved V Set out 
from among our congregations all those ten ranks of the 
profane on one hand, a.id then besides, take cut all the 
twelve sorts of close and self deceiving hypccriics on 
the other hand, and tell me then whether it be not a rem- 
nant that shall be saved. Hov; few will be the sheep that 
shall be left when all these siiall be separated, and set 
among the goats 1 i'or my part, of all my numcro\is 
hearers, I have no hope to see any ef them in heaven, 
tiiat are to be found -i^^ong these two and twenty sorts 
that are here mentioned, except by sound conversion 
they are brought into another condition. 

Application. And now, Conscience, do thy office : 
speak out, and speak home to him that heareth or read- 
eth these lines. If thou find any of these marks upon 
him, thou must ^.vonounce him utterly unclean, ic v. xiii. 
44. Take not up a lie into thy mouth, speak not peace 
to him to whom God speaks no peace ; let not lust bribe 
thee, or self-love ; or carnal prejudice blind thee. I sub- 
poena thee from the court of heaven to come and eive 



64' The Marks of the Unconverted. 

in evidence : I require thee in the name of God to go 
with rne to the search of the suspected house. As thou 
wilt answer it at thy peril, give in a true report of the 
state and case of him that readeth this book. Conscience, 
wilt thou altogether hold thy peace at such a time as 
this ? I adjiire thee by the living God, that thou tell us 
the truth, A/att. xxvi. 63. Is the man converted, or is 
he not ? Doth he allow himself in any way of sin, or 
doth he not ? Doth he truly love, and please, and prizei 
and dcliglit in God above all other things, or not ? Come 
put it to an issue. 

How long shall this soul live at uncertainties ? O Con- 
science bring in thy verdict. Is this man a new man, or 
is he not ? How dost thou find it ? Hath there passed a 
thorough and mighty change upon him, or not ? When 
was the time, where was the place, or what were the 
r.ieans by which this thorough change of the new birth 
was wrought in his soul ? Speak, Conscience ; or if thou 
canst not tell time and place, canst thou shew scripture- 
evidence that the work is done ? Hath the man beeri 
ever taken off from his false bottom, from the false hopes 
and false peace wherein once he trusted? Hath.he been 
deeply convinced of sin, and of his lost and undone con- 
dition, and brought out of himself, and off from his sins, 
to give up himself entirely to Jesus Chist ? Or, dost 
thou not find him to this very day under the power of 
ignorance, or in the mire of profaneness. Hast thou 
not found upon him the gains of unrighteousness ? Dost 
then not find him a stranger to prayer, a neglecter of 
the word, a lover of this present world ? Dost thou not, 
often catch him in a lie ? Dost thou not find his heart 
fernienetd with malice, or burning with lust, or going 
after his covetousness 1 Speak plainly to all the fore- 
mentioned particulars : canst thou acquit this man, this 
woman, from being any of the two and twenty sorts here 
described? If he be found with, any of them, set him 
aside, his portion is not with the saints ; he must be 
converted and made a new creature, or else he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God. 

Beloved, be not your own betrayers, do not deceive 
your ov/n hearts; nor set your hands to your own ruin, 
by a wilful binding of yourselves. Set up a tribunal in 



Miseries of the Uxco>,-vektei5. 0*5" 

your own breasts, bring the word and conscience to- 
gether : " To the law and to the testimony," I&a. viii. ^0.- 
hear what the word concludes of your estates : O follow 
the search till you have found how the case stands; mis- 
take here, and you perish. And such is the treachery of 
the heart,'the subliky of ihe tempter, and the deceitfu^- 
ncss of sin, Jer. xvii. 9. 2 Cor. xi. 3. Heb. iii. 13. all 
conspire to flatter and deceive the poor soul ; and withal 
so common and easy it is to be mistaken, that it is a 
thousand to one but you will be deceived, unless you be 
very careful and thorough and in»partial in the enquiry, 
into your spiritual condition : () ! therefore ply your 
work, goto the bottom, search with candles, weigh you 
in the balance, come to the standard of the sanctuary, 
bring your coin to the touchstone. You have the 
most arch cheats iivthc world to deal with, a world of 
counterfeit coin is going; huppy is he that takes no 
counterfeits for gold. Satan is master of deceit ; he can 
draw to the life, he is perfect in the trade, there is no-, 
thing but he can imitate. 

You cannot wish for any grace, but he can fit you to 
a hair with a counterfeit. Trade warily, look on every 
piece you take, be jealous, trust not so much as your own 
hearts. Run to God to search you and try you ; to ex- 
amine you and prove your reigns, Psalm xxvi. 2. and 
cxxxix. 23, 2i. IV other helps suffice not to bring all ta 
an issue, but you are still at a loss, open your cases faith- 
fully to some godly and faithful minister, Mai. ii. 7 lest 
not till you have put the business of your eternal wel- 
fare out of question, 1 Fet. ii. 10. O searcher of hearts, 
put thou this soul upon, and help him in his search 1 

C II A P. V. 

Shelving the Miseries of the Unconverted. 

SO unspeakably dreadful is the case of every uncon- 
verted soul, that I have sometimes thought if I 
could but convince men that they are yet unregenerate, 
the .vork were in a measure done. 
.But I sadly experience, that such a spirit of sloth and 



C^ Miseries ()f ^/^t* Ukconverted. 

slumber (Roni. xi. 8. Matthew xiii. 15.) possesseththe 
impenitent, that though they be convmced that they are 
yet unconverted, yet they oftentimes carelessly sit still; 
and what through the avocation of sensual pleasures, or 
hurry of worldly business, or noise and clamour of earth- 
ly cares, and lusts, and affections, Luke xiii. 14. the voice 
of conscience is drowned, and men go no farther than 
some cold wishes and general purposes of repenting 
and amending, j^cts xxiv. 15. 

It is, therefore, of high necessity that I do not only 
convince men that they are unconverted, but that I also 
endeavour to bring them to a sense of the fearful mise- 
yy of this state. 

But here ! find myself aground at first putting forth. 
What tongue can tell the heirs of hell sufficiently of 
iheir misery, unless it were Dives'-s in that flame ? Luke 
xvi. 24. Where is the ready writer, whose pen can de- 
cypher their misery that *'are without God in the 
world ?'* £/ih. ii 12. This cannot be fully done, unless 
we knew the infinite ocean of that bliss of perfection 
which is in God ; which a state of sin doth exclude 
men from. " Who knoweth (saith Moses) the power of 
thine anger ?'* Paalm xc. 1 1 . And how shall I tell men 
that which I do not know ? Yet so much we know, as 
one would think would shake the heart of that man that . 
hath the least degree of spiritual life and stnse. 

But this is yet the more posing difficulty, that I am 
to speak to them that are without sense. Alas 1 this is 
not the least part of man's misery upon him, that he is 
dead, stark dead in trespasses and sins, Efihts. ii. 1. 

Could I bring paradise into view, or represent the 
kingdom of heaven to as much advantage as the tempt- 
er did the kingdoms of the world, and all the glory 
thereof, to our Saviour : or could I uncover the face of 
the deep and devouring gulph of Tophet, in all its ter- 
rors, and open the gates of the infernal furnace, alas ! 
he hatli no eyes to see it, Matthenu xiii. 14, 15. Could I 
paint out the beauties of holiness, or glory of the gospel 
to the life ; or could I bring aboveboard the more than 
diabolical deformity and ugliness of sin, he can no more 
judge of the loveliness and beauty of the one, and the 
niihiness and huteiViincss ca the olhcrj th^'.n a blind m;;n 



Miseries of the Unconverted. 6? 

ef colours. He is alienated from the life of God through 
the ignorance that is in hini, because of the blindness 
of his heart, Efih. iv. 18 he neither doth, nor can knew 
the things of God, because they are spiritually discern- 
ed, 1 Cor. ii. 14. his eyes cannot be savingly opened but 
by converting grace, Mts xxvi. 1 8. he is a child of dark- 
ness, and walks in darkness, I John i. 6. << yea, the light 
in him is darkness," Matt. vi. 3. 

Shall I ring his knell, or read his sentence, or sound 
in his ear the terrible trump of God's judgments, that 
one would think should make both his ears to tingle, and 
strike him into Belshazzar's fit, even to appal his coun- 
tenace, and loosen his joints, and make his knees smite 
one against another ? Yet alas I he perceives me not, 
he hath no ears to hear. Or shall I call up the daugh- 
ters of music and sing the song of Moses and of the 
Lamb? Yet he will not be stirred. Shall I allure him 
with the joyful sound and lovely song, and glad tidings 
of the gospel; with the most sweet and inviting calls, 
comforts, and cordials of the divine promises, so exceed- 
ing great and precious? It will not affect him savingly, 
unless I couW find him ears. Matt. xiii. 15. as weil as 
tell him the news. 

Which way shall 1 come at the miserable objects that 
I have to deal with ? Who shall make the heart of stone 
to relent? Zech. vii. 11,12. or the carcase to feel and 
move? That God alone, who "is able of stones to raise 
up children unto Abraham," Matt. iii. 9. that raiseth 
the dead," 1 Cor. i. and melteth the moimtains," A^tfu 
i, 5. and strikes water out of the flints, Deut. viii. 15. 
that loves to work like himself, beyond the hope and be- 
lief of man ; that peopleth his church with dry bones, 
and planteth his orchard with dry sticks ; he is able to 
do this. *' Therefore I bow my knee to the most high 
God," Efth. iii. 14. and as our Saviour prayed at the se- 
pulchre of Lazarus., JbAn xi. 38, 41. and the Shunamite 
to the man of God for her dead child, 2 Kings) iv 25. so 
doth your mourning minister kneel about your graves, 
and carry you in the arms of prayer to that God in whom 
your help is found. 

" O thou all powerful Jehovah, that worketh. and none 
can hinder thee ! tlru hast the keys of death rixl htl», 



63 31hcrlcs if ike UNCo:^;vE^vTi:^.^ 

pity thou the poor souls that lie here entombed, and roH 
awLvy the j^rave-stones, and say, as to Lazarus, Come 
forth : lighten thou this darkness, O inaccessible light, 
and let the day-spring from on high visit the dark regions 
of the dead, to whom I speak, for thou canst open the 
eyes that death itself hath closed ; thou that formedst 
the ear, canst restore the hearing: say l|iou to these 
ears, Ejihfihatlia^ and they shall be opened. Give ihou 
eyes to see thine excellencies, a taste that may relish 
thy sweetness, a scent that may savour thine ointments, 
a feeling that may discern the privilege of thy favour, 
the burden of thy wrath, the intolerable weight of unpar- 
doned sin : and give thy servants order to prophesy to 
the dry bones ; and Let the effects of this prophecy be 
us those of the prophet when he prophesied the valley 
of dry bones into a living army, exceeding great," isrcA*. 
xxxvii. 1, 8cc. 

Bui I must proceed, as I am able, to unfold, that mys- 
tery which, I confess, no tongue can fully unfold, no 
heart can thoroughly comprehend. — Know, therefore, 
that while thou art unconverted, 

1st, '* The infinite' God is engaged against thee." It 
is no small part of thy misery that thou art without God, 
Efih. ii. 12. How doth Micah run crying after the Da- 
nites, " Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I 
jnovcV* Judg. xviii. 23 24. O what a mournii-g then 
must thou lift up that art without God, that canst lay no 
claim to him without daring usurpation ! Thou mayest 
say of God as Sheba of David, " We have no part in Da- 
vid, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse,'*^ 
2 Sam XX; i. How pitiful and piercing a moan is that 
of Saul in his extremity ! " The Philistines are upon me,, 
and God is departed from me i" 1- Sam. xxvii. 15. But 
what will .you do, O sinners, in the day of visitation ! 
Wither will you flee for help ? Where will you leave 
your glory ? Isd. x. 3. What will you do when the Phil- 
istines ai'e upon you ; when the world shall take its eter- 
nal leave of you ; when vou must bi(i vour friends, 
houses and lands farewell for evermore ? What will you 
do then, I say, that have no God to go to ? Will you call 
on him ? Will you cry to him for help ? Alas ! he will 
not own you, Frw, i. 28, 29. he >Yill not take ^yi 



Miseries of the U:sico:sV'EiiTBD. 69 

notice of you, but send you away with " I never knew 
you," Matt. vii. 23. They that know what it is to have 
a God to go to, a God to live upon, they know a little 
what a fearful misery it is to be without God. This 
made that holy man cry out, '* Let me have a God or 
nothing. Let me know him and his will, and what will 
please him, and how I may come to enjoy him ; or would 
I had never an understanding to know any thing." ^c. 

But thou art not only without God, but God is against 
thee, Ezek.y. 8,9. JVa/mm ii. 13.. O ! if God would but 
stand neuter, though he did not own or help the poor 
sinner, his case were not so deeply miserable, though 
God should give up the poor creature to the will of his 
enemies, to do their worst with him ; though he should 
deliver him over to the tormentors, Matt, xviii. 34. that 
devils should tear and torture him to their utmqst power 
and skill, yet this were not half so fearful. But God will 
set himselfagainst the sinner; and believe, ''it is a fear- 
ful thing to fall into the hands of the living Gcd,'* Bed. 
X. 21. there is no friend like him, no enemy like him : 
as much as heaven is above the eartlx, omnipotcncy above 
impotency, infinity above nullity, so much more horri- 
ble is it to fall into the hands of the living God, than in- 
to the paws of bears or lions, yea, furies or devils. God 
himself will be thy tormentor ; thy destruction shall 
rome from the presence of the Lord, 2 Thess. i. 9. 
*' Tophetis deep and large, and the wrath of the Lord 
like a river of brimstone, doth kindle it,'* ha. xxx. 33. 
*' If God be, against thee, who shall be for thee ? if one 
man sin against another, ihe judge i=ha)I judge him ; but 
if a man sin ag^'inst the Lord, who shall intreai for him ? 
1 Sam. ii. 15. Thou, even thou art to be feared : rnd 
who shall stanrl in thy sight when onCe thou art angrv?'* 
Psabn Ixxvi. 7. ^* Who is that god that shall deliver 
you out of his hands?" Dan. iii. 15 Can mamn^on ? 
" Riches profit not in the day of wrath," Pro-u. xi- 4. 
Can Kings or warriors? No: '* Thrv shall cry to the 
mountains aiid rocks to fall on them, and hide them from 
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the 
wrath of the Lamb ; for tiie great day of his wrath is 
come, and who shall be able to stand ?" Rev, vi. 1 '^. ^ " 



yO Miseries of the UnconverteiJ. 

Sinner ! methinks this should go like a dagger tx) thy 
heart, to know that God is thine enemy : O whither 
wilt thou go ? Where wilt thou shelter ? There is 
no hope for thee unless thou lay down thy weapons, and 
sue out thy pardon ; and get Christ to stand thy friend 
and make thy peace : if it were not for this, thouniight- 
est go into some howling wilderness, and there pine in 
sorrow, and run mad for anguish of heart, and horrible 
despair; but in Christ there is a possibility of mercy 
for thee, yea, a proffer of mercy to thee, that thou mayst 
have God more for thee, than he is now against thee; 
but if thou wilt not forsake thy sins, nor turn thorough- 
ly, and to some purpose to God, by a sound conversion, 
the wrath of God abideth on thee, and he procluimeth 
himself to be against thee, as in the prophet Ezekiel^ 
chap. V. 8. " Therefore, thus saiih the LordGod, Be- 
Iiold, I, even I am against thee.'* 

I. " His face is against thee,'* Ps-ffZ/n xxxiv. 16. <'The 
face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off 
the remembrance of them." Woe unto them whom 
God shall set-his face against. When he did but look 
on the host of the Egyptians, how terrible v/as the con- 
sequence ! Ezek. xiv. 8. "• I will set my face against 
that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and 
v/iil cut him off froni the midst of my people, and you 
shall know that I am tKe Lord." 

IL " His heart is against thee." He hateth all the 
workers of iniquity ; man doth not thy heart tremble 
to think of thy being an object of God's haired ? Jer. xv. 
1. " Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet 
my mind could not be towards this pGT)ple ; cast them 
out of my sight." Zech. xi. 8. " My soul loathed them, 
and their souls also abhorred me." 

HL *' His hand is against thee," 1 Sam. xii. 14, 15, 
All his attributes are against thee. 

First, His justice is like a flaming sword unsheathed 
against thee : " If I whet my glittering sword, and my 
hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to 
mine adversaries, and will reward them that hate me ; I 
v.'ill make mine arrows drur^k with blood," i^c. Deut. 
xxxii. 40, 41. 

So exact is ju'stice, that it will by no means clear the 



Miseries of ihe,U j<ico^vBRTBi>: 71 

guilty, Exodus xxxiv. 7. Cod Avill not dischargee thee, 
*' he will not hold thee j^uiltless," Exodtis xx. 8 but will 
require the whole debt in person of thee ; unless thou 
canst make a scripture-claim to Christ, jmd his satisfac- 
tion. When the enlightened sinner looks on justice, and 
sees the balance in wliich he is to be weighed, and the 
sword by which he must be executed, he feels an earth- 
quake in his breast : but Satan keeps this out of sight, 
and persuades the soul (while he can) that the Lord is 
all made up of mcrcvi and so lulls it asleep in sin. Di- 
vine justice is very strict, it must have satisfaction to the 
utmost farthing; it denounceth " indignation and wrath, 
tribulation and anguish to every soul that docth evil, 
Rom, ii. 8, 9. It curseth every one that continueth not 
in every thing that is written in the law, to do it," Gal. 
iii. 10. The justice of God to the unpardoned sinner, 
that hath a sen^seof his misery, is more terrible tlian the 
sight of the bailiff or creditor to the bankrupt-debtor, 
or than the sight of the judge and bench to the robber, or 
of the irons and gibbet to the guilty murdsier. When 
justice sits upon life and death, O what dreadful work 
doth it make witji the wretched sinner! ** Bind him hand 
and foot, cast him into outer darkness ;• there shall be 
weeping and gnashing of teeth," Matt, xxii. 13. " De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," Matt. 
XXV. 4 1 . This is the terrible sentence that justice pro- 
nounccth. Why sinner, by this severe JAistice must 
thou be tried 1 And as Godliveth, this killing sentence 
shalt thou hear, unless thou repent and be converted. 

Secondly, " The holiness of God is full of antipathy 
against thee," Psalm v. 4, 5. He is not only angry with 
thee, but he hath a fixed, rooted, habitual displeasure 
against thee, "he loathes thee," Zech. xi. 8. and what 
is done by thee, though in substanilTe commanded by 
him, i:?a. i. 14. Mai. i. 10. God's nature is infinitely 
contrarv to sin, and so he cannot but hate a sinner cut 
of Christ. 

O, what misery is this, to be put of the favour, yea, 
under the hatred of God ! Ecclcs. v. 6. Hos. ix. 15. that 
God who can as eaiily lay aside his nature, and cease to 
be God, as not be contrary to thee, and detest thee, ex- 
cept thou be changed and renewed by grace. O sinner;' 



?i2 Miseries of the Unconveeteb. 

howdarest thou to think of the bright and radiant sun 
of purity, of the beauties, the glory of holiness that is in 
God 1 " the stars are not pure in his sight," Job. xxv. 5. 
" He humbles himself to behold tilings that are done in 
heaven," Psalm cxiii. 6. O those light and sparkling 
eyes of his ! What do they spy in thee ? And thou hast 
no interest in Christ neither, that he should pUad for 
thee. Methinks he should hear thee crying out (aston- 
ished) with the Bethshemites, " Who shall stand before 
this Lord God 1" I Sam. vi. 20 

Thirdly, " The power of God is mounted like a 
mighty cannon against thee." The glory of God's 
power is to be displayed in the wonderful confusion and 
destruction of them that obey not the gospel, 2 Thess. i. 
8, 9. O man ! Art thou able to nmke thy part good 
with thy Maker? No more than a silly reed against the 
cedars of God, or a little cockboat against the tumbling 
ocean, or the children's bubbles against the blustering 
winds. 

Sinner, the power of God*s anger is against thee, 
Psalm xc. 11. and power and anger together make fear- 
ful work ; it were better thou hadst all the world in arms 
against thee, than to have the power of God against thee. 
There is no escaping his hands nor breaking his prison. 
<' The thunder of his power who can understand ? Job. 
xxvi. 14. Unhappy man that shall understand it by 
feeling it ! " If he will contend with him, he cannot an- 
swer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart and 
mighty in strength : who hath hardened himself against 
him and prospered ? which removeth the mountains and 
they know it not ; which overturneth them in his anger ; 
which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars 
thereof tremble ; which conimandeth the sun, and it 
riseth not, and sealeth up the stars ? Behold he tskcth 
away, who can hinder him ? Who will say unto him, 
What doest thou ? If God will not withdraw his anger, 
the proud-helpers do stoop under him," Job ix. 5. Isfc. 
And art thou a fit m^tch for such an antagonist ? " O I 
consider this, you that forget God, lest he tear you in 
pieces and there be none to deliver you," Psalm 1. 22. 
Submit to mercy, let not dust and stubble stand out 
flo-ainst the Almighty j set not briers and thcrns ae-ainst 



Miseiies of the UNco^'VERTED. 73 

iiim in battle, lest ho go through them and consume 
them together ; but lay hold of his strength, that you 
may " make peace with him," Isa. xxvii. 4,5. "Woe 
unto him that striveth with his Maker," Isa. xlv. 9. 

Fourthly "The wisdom of God is set to ruin thee," 
He *' hath ordained his arrows, and prepared instru- 
ments of death and made all things ready," Psalm vii. 

12, 13. Plis counsels are against thee to contrive thy 
destruction, «7(?r. xviii. 1 1. He laughs to see how thou 
wilt be taken and ensnared in the evil day, Psalm xxxvii. 

13. "The Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that 
day is coming." He sees how thou wilt come down 
mightily in a moment ; how wilt thou wring thy hands, 
tear thy hair, eat thy flesh and gnash thy teeth for an- 
guish and astonisment of heart, when thou seest thou 
art fallen remedlessly into the pit of destruction. 

Fifthly, " The truth of God is sworn against thee," 
Psalm xcv. 11. If he be true and faithful, thou must 
perish if thou goest on, Luke xiii. 3. Unless he be false 
to his word, thou must die, except thou repent, Ezek. 
xxxiii. 11- "If we believe not, yet he abidcth faithful, 
he cannot deny himself," 2Tiin.\\. 13. that is, he is 
faithful to his threatenings as well as promises, and will 
shew his faithfulness in our confusion, if we believe not. 
God hath told thee, as plain as it can be spoken, that, 
" if he wash thee not, thou hast no part in him," John 
xiii. 8. that "if thou livest after the flesh thou shaltdie," 
Rom.y'm. 13. that "except thou be converted, thou 
shalt in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven," Matt. 
xviii. 3 and he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. 
Beloved, as the immutable faithfulness of God in his 
promise and oath affords believers strong consolation, 
Heb. vi. 18. so it is to unbelievers for strong consterna- 
tion and confusion. O sinner, tell me what shift dost 
thou make to think of all the threatenings of God's word, 
that stand upon record against thee ? Dost thou believe 
they are truth or not ? If not, thou art a wretched infidel, 
and not a christian ; and therefore give over the name 
and hopes of a christian. But if thou dost believe them, 
O heart of steel that thou hast, that canst walk up and 
down in quiet, when the truth and faithfulness of God is 
G 



74 Miseries of the Unconverted. 

engaged to destroy thee! So that if the Almighty can 
do it, thou shalt surely perish and be damned. Why 
man ? the whole book of God doth testify against thee, 
while thou remainest unsanctified : it condemns thee in 
every leaf, and is to thee like Ezekiel's roll, " written 
within and without with lamentation, and mourning and 
woe,' Ezek. ii 10. and all this shall surely come upon 
ihee, and ovcrtiike thee, {Deut. xxviii. 15.) except thou 
repent ; '' Heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot 
or tittle of this word shall never pass away," Mult. v. 
18. 

Now put all this together, and tell me if the case of 
the unconverted be not deplorably miserable : as we read 
of some persons that had bound themselves in an oath 
and in a curse to kill Paul, so thou must know, O im- 
.penitent sinner, to thy terror, that all ihe attributes of 
the infinite God are bound in an oath to destroy thee, 
Heb. iii. 1 8. O man I what wilt thou do ? Whither wilt 
thou flee ? If God's omnisciency can find thee, thou shalt 
not escape ; if the true and faithful God will save his 
oath, perish you must, except thou repent and believe. 
1 f the Almighty hath power to torment thee, thou shalt 
be perfectly miserable in soul and body to all eternity, 
unless it be prevented by speedy conversion. 

II. " The whole creation of God is against thee.'* 
" The whole creation (saith Paul) groaneth and travail- 
eth in pain," Rom. viii. 22. But what is it the creation 
groaneth under? Why, the fearful abuse that it is sub- 
ject to, in serving the lust of unsanctified men. And 
what is it that the creation groaneth for ? Why, for free- 
dom and liberty from this abuse ; for the '* creature 
is very unwillingly subject to this bondage," Rom. viii. 
19,21. If the unreasonable and animate creatures had 
speech and reason, they would cry out under it as a bon- 
dage unsuflfsrable to be abused by the ungodly, contrary 
to their natures and the ends that the great Creator make 
them for. While the Lord of hosts is against thee be 
sure the host of the Lord is against thee, and all the 
creatures as it were up in arms, till upon a man's conver- 
sion the controversy being taken up between God and 
him, he makes a covenant of peace with the creatures 
or him, Job xxi. 21, 24. Ilosea ii. 18, 20. 



Miseries of the Unconverted. 75 

III. " The roaring lion hath his full power upon thee,'* 
1 Pet. V. 8. Thou art fast in the paw of that lion that is 
greedy to devour ; in the snare ot the devil, led captive 
by him at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26. This is the spirit that 
worketh in the children of disobedience; Ji-fih. ii. 2. his 
drudges they are, and his lust they do. He is the ruler 
of the darkness of this world, Efi'h. vi. 12. that is of ig- 
norajit sinners that live in darkness. Vou pity the poor 
Indians that worship the devil for their God, but little 
think it is your own case. Why, it is the common mis- 
ery of all the impenitent, that the devil is their God, 2 
Cor. IV. 4. Not that they do intend to do him homage 
and worship, they will be ready to defy him, and him 
that should say so by them ; but all tl-.is while they serve 
him, and come and go at his beck, and live under his gov- 
ernment : " His servants ye are to whom you yield your- 
selves to obey." Rom. vi. 16. Doubtless the liar intends 
not a service to Satan, but his own advantage ; yet it is 
he that stands in the corner unobserved, and putteth the 
things in his heart, .4'f /* v. 3. Johns'iu.. 44. Questionless 
Judas, when he sold his master for money, and the Chal- 
deans and Sabeans, when they plundered Job, intended 
not to do the devil a pleasure, but to satisfy their own 
covetous thirst, yet it was he that actuated them in their 
wickedness, ^/o/^7^ xiii. 27. Job i. 12, 15, 17. Men may 
be very slaves and common drudges for the devil, and 
never know it ; nay, they may please themselves in the 
thoughts of happy liberty, 2 Pet. ii. 19. 

Art thou yet in ignorance, and not turned from dark- 
ness to light ? Why, thou art under the power of Satan, 
Jets xvi. 18. Dost thou live in the ordinary and wilful 
practice of any known sin ? know that thou art of the 
devil, 1 John iii. 8. Dost thou live in strife, or envy, or 
malice? verily he is thy father, ^c/m viii. 40,41. O 
dreadful case \ However Satan may provide his slaves 
with divers pleasures, Tit. iii. 3. yet it is but to draw 
them into endless perdition. The serpent comes with 
the apple in his mouth, O ! but (with Eve) thou seest not 
the deadly sting in his tail. He that is now thy tempter 
will one day be thy tormentor. O, that I coud but give 
thee to see how black a master thou scrvcst, how filthy 
' drugery thou dost, how. merciless a tyrant thou grat- 



76 Miseries of ike UNcoNVEitiit£>. 

ifiest, all whose pleasure is to set thcc on work to make 
thy percUlion and danination sure, and lo heat the fwf- 
nace hotter and hotter, m which thou must burn for mil- 
lions and millions of ages. 

IV. "The guilt of all thy sins lies like a mountain 
upon thee.'* Poor soul ! thou feelest it not, but this is 
that which seals thy misery upon thee. While uncon- 
verted, none of thy sins can be blotted out, Actsni. 19. 
Ihey are all upon the score against thee. Regeneration 
and remission are never separated ; the unsanctified are 
-•uiquestionably unjustified and upardoned, I Cor. vi. 11. 
\ Pet. I. 2. Heh. ix. 14. Beloved, it is a fearful thing 
to be in debt, but above all in God's debt ; for there is 
no arrest so formidable as his, no prison so horrible as 
liis. Look upon an enlightened sinner who feels the 
weight of his own guilt, O how frightful are his looks, 
IiOvv fearful are his complaints ! His comforts are turned 
into wormwood, and his moisture into drought, and his 
sleep is departed from his eyes. 

How light soever you may m*ke of it now, you will 
one day find the guilt of unpardoned sin to be a heavy 
burden, it is a mill-stone, " whosoever falleth upon it 
shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it 
shall grind him to powder," Matt. xxi. 44. What work 
did it make with our blessed Saviour! It pressed the very 
blood out of his veins, and broke all his bones ; and if 
it did this in the green tree, what will it do in the dry ? 

O think of thy case in time ! canst thou think of that 
threat without trembling, " Ye shall die in your sins ?" 
John viii. 24. O better were it for thee to die in a jail, 
in a ditch, in a dungeon, than to die in your sins. It- 
death, as it will take away all other comforts, would 
take away thy sins too, it were some mitigation ; but thy 
sins will follow thee when thy friends leave thee and all 
worldly enjoyments shake hands with thee ; thy sins will 
not die with thee, 2 Cor. V. 10. i?<?-y.xx. 12. asaprison- 
cr's other debts will, but they will goto judgment with 
thee, there to be thy accusers ; and they will go to hell 
with thee, there to be thy tormentors. Better to have so 
many fiends and furies about thee, than thy sins to fall 
upon thee and fasten upon thee. O the work that these 
will make thee I O look over thy debts in time, how 



Miseries of the U^c6y{VBv*.T^j). 77 

much thou art in the books of every one of God's laws : 
how is every one of God's commandments ready to ar- 
rest thee, and seize thee by the throat, for the innume- 
rable bonds it hath upon thee ? What wilt thou do then, 
when they shall .all together come in against thee? 
Hold open the eyes of conscience to consider this, that 
thou mayest despair of ihyself, and be driven to Christ, 
and *' fly for refuge to lay hold of the hope that is set 
before thee." Heb. vi. 18. 

V. "Thy raging lusts do miserably enslave thee." 
While impenitent,ihou art a very servant of sin ; it reigns 
over thee, and holds thee under its dominion till thou 
art brought within the bonds of God's covenant, Jo/in viii. 
34,56. Tifus iii. 3. Rojn. vi. 12, 14. and vi. 16, 17. Now 
there is not such another tyrant as sin : O the filthy 
and fearful work that it doth engage its servants in ! 
Would it not pierce a man's heart to sec a company of 
poor creatures drudging and toiling, only to heap «p fag- 
gotvto burn themselves ? Why this is the constant em- 
ployment of all sin's drudges: even while they bless 
themselves in their unrighteous gains, while they sing 
and swill in pleasures, they are but treasuring up wrath 
and vengeance for iheir eternal burning ; ihcy are but 
laying in powder and bullet, and adding to the pile of 
Tophet and flinging in oil to make the flame rage the 
fiercer. Who would serve such a master, whose work 
is drudgery, and whose wages is death ! i?c7«. vi. 23. 

What a woeful spectacle was the poor wretch who 
was possessed with the legion I Would it not have griev« 
ed thy heart to have seen him among the tombs cutting 
and wounding himself? Mark v. 5. This is tliy case, 
such is thy work, every stroke is a thrust at thy heart, 
1 Tim.\\. 10. Conscience indeed, is now asleep, but 
when death and judgment shall bring thee to tiiy senses, 
''then thou wilt feel the raging smart and anguish of eve- 
ry v/ound. 

VI. " The furnace of eternal vengeance is heated 

-_ready for thee," ha. xxx. S3. "Hell and destruction 

open their mouths upon thee, they gape and groan for 

thee," chafi. v. 1 8. waiting as it were, with a greedy eye, 

as thou standcst on the brink, when ibou wilt drop i". 

G 2 



78 Miseries of the UNcoNVERTEr>. 

If the wralh of man l>e " as the roarinpj of a lion." Prov. 
XX. 2. "more heavy than the sand," chafi. xxvii. 3 what 
i3 the wrath of the infinite God ? 1 f the burning furnace, 
heated in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery rage, when he coni- 
manded it to be made seven times hotter, was so fierce 
as to burn up even tliose that drew near it to throw the 
three children in, Dan. ii. 19,22. how hot is that burn- 
ing oven of the Almighty's fury ? Mai. iv. I . surely this 
is seventy times more fierce. "Can thy heart endure, 
or can thy hands be strong in the day that I shall de'c^l 
with thee, saith the Lord of hosts ?" -EzeA-. xxii. 14. 
Canst thou abide everlasting burnings ? Canst thou dwell 
with consuming fire ? ha. xxxii. 14. 

() sinner 1 stop here and consider ; if thou art a man, 
and not a senseless block, consider ; bethink thyself 
where thou standest ; why upon the very brink of this 
furnace. "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, 
thero is but a step between thee and it," I &;?:.xx. 3. 
Thou knowest not, when thou liest down, but thou may- 
est be in it before the morning : thou knowest not, when 
thou risest, but thou mayest drop in before night. Barest 
thou make light of this ? Wilt thou go on in such a dread- 
ful condition as if nothing ailed thee ? If thou puttest it 
off and sayest, " This doth not belong to me ;" lock 
again over the foregoing chapter, and tell me the truth ; 
•are none of these black marks found upon thee ? Do not 
blind thine eyes, do not deceive thyself ; sec thy misery 
whilst thou mayest prevent it. Think Nvhat it is to be a 
vile outcast a damned reprobate, a vessel of wrath, into 
which the Lord will pour out his tormenting fury while 
he liatha being, Rom. ix. 22. 

VIL " The lav/ discharges all its threats and curses 
atthee," Ga/. iii. 10. Z)<fwr. xxviii.^ O how dreadful doth 
it thunder 1 it spits fire and brimstone in thy face ; its 
words are as dravai swords, and as the sharp arrows of 
the mighty ; it demands satisfaction to the utmost, and 
cries, justice^ justice : it speaks blood, and war, and 
wounds and death against thee, O the execrations, and 
plagues, and deaths that this murdering piece is loaded 
with ! (read Deut. xxviii. 15. &c.) and thou art the matk 
at which this shot is levelled. " O man, away to thj 
strong hold/' 2ec^, in- 12, ^way from thy sins; haste 



Miseries of ike UNCONVEiiTKL-. 'Tv 

to the sai^ctuary, the city of refuge, Heb. xiii. 13. evert 
the Lord Jesus Christ ; hide thee in him, or else thok 
art lost without any hope of recovery. 

VIII. ^'Tlve gospel itself bindeth the sentence of 
eternal damnation upr# thee," MarA: xvi. 16. Ifthoii 
continucst in thine in^ penitent and unconverted state, 
know that the gospel denounceth a much sorer condem- 
nation than ever would have been for the transgression 
only of the first covenant. Is it not a dreadful case, to 
have the gospel itself thunder out threats of damnation? 
To have " the Lord roar frona mount Sion agamst thee ? 
Jccliii, 16. "Hear the terror of the Lord: he that 
believelh not shall be damned. Except ye repent ye 
shall airperish,"ZwA-e xiii. 2. '' This is the condemna- 
tion that light is come into the world, and men love dark- 
ness rather than light," John iii. 1 9. " He that believeth 
not, the wrath of Godabideth on him," Johnni. 36. "If 
the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every trans- 
gression and disobefUence received a just recon pense 
of reward, how sliall we escape if we neglect so great 
salvation ?" ^t'6. ii. 2,3. "He that despised Moses's 
law, died without mercy. Of how much sorer punish- 
ment shall he be thought worthy, who hath trampled 
under foot the Son of God ?" Heb. x- 28, 29, 

Application. And is this true indeed ? Is this thy 
misery ? Yea, it is as true as God is. Better open thine 
eyes and see it now, while thou mayest remedy it, than 
blind and harden thyself till, to thy eternal sorrow, thou 
shalt feel what thou wouldst not believe : and if it be true, 
what dost thdu mean to loiter and linger in such a case 
as this ? 

Hear what the Lord saith : " Fear ye not me, sailh 
the Lord, will ye not tremble at my presence V* Jer. v. 
22. O sinners, do you make light of the wrath to come ? 
Matt. iii. 7. I am sure there is a time coming, when 
you will not make light of it. Why, the very devils do 
believe and tremble, James ii. 1 9. What, are ycu more 
hardened than they ? Will you run upon the edge of 
the rock ? Will you play at the hole of the asp ? Will 
you put your hand upon the cockatrice's den ? Will you 
dance upon the fire till you are burnt ? or dally with 



30 Miseries o/' ^//t' U x c o n v ert ed . 

devouring wrath, as if you were indifferent whether you 
did escape or endure it ? O madness of folly I Solomon's 
m tdman, that casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, and 
saith, " Am I not in jest?" Prov. xxvi 18. There is 
nothinjj so distracted as the wilful sinner, Luke xv. 16. 
that gdeth on in his unconverted state, without sense, as 
if nothini^ ailed him. The man that runs on the can- 
non's mouth, and sports with his blood, and lets out his 
life in a frolic, is sensible, sober, and serious, to 
ium that i^oeth on still in his tresspasses, /*««//« Ixviii. 
Jl. for "he stretches out his hand against God, and 
strengthens himself against the Almighty : he runneth 
upon him, even upoi^ his neck, upon the thick bosses of 
bis buckler," Job xv. 25,26. Is it wisdom to dally with 
the second death, or to venture into the lake that burnetii* 
with fire and brimstone ? Rev. xxi. 8. as if thou were 
but going to wash thee, or swim for thy recreation? 
What shall I say ? I can find out no expression, no com- 
parison, whereby to set forth the dreadful distraction of 
that soul that continues to go on in sin. 

Awake, awake, E/ih v. 14. O sinner! arise and take 
thy flight: There is but one door thou mayest flee by, 
and that is the strait door of conversion and the new birth. 
Unless thou turn unfeignedly from all thy sins, and 
come to Jesus Christ, and take him for " the Lord thy 
righteousness,'* and walk in him in holiness and newness 
of life ; as the Lord liveth, it is not more certain that 
thou art out of hell, than that thou shalt without fail be 
in it, but a few days and nights from hence O set thy 
heart to think of thy case. Is not thine everlasting mis- 
ery or welfare that which doth deserve a little consider- 
ation ? Lookagain over the miseries of the unconverted. 
If the Lord hath not spoken by me, regard me not; but 
if it be the very word of God, that all this misery lies 
upon thee, what a case art thou in? Is it for one that has 
his senses to live in such a condition, and not to make all 
possible expedition for preventing his utter ruin! O 
man! who hath bewitched thee! Gal. iii. 1. that in the 
present life thou shouldst be wise enough to forecast thy 
business, foresee thy danger, and prevent thy mischief; 
but in matters of everlasting consequence shouldst be 
slight and careless as if they little concerned thee ? 



Miseries of the Unconverted. 81 

Why, is it nothing to thee to have all the attributes of 
God engaged against thee ? Canst thou do well without 
his favour ? Canst thou escape his hands or endure his 
vengeance ? Dost thou hear the creation groaning under 
thee and hell groaning for thee, and yet think thy case 
good enough ? Art thou in the paw of the lion, under 
the power of corruption, in the dark noisome prison, fet- 
tered with lusts, working out thy own damnation, and is 
not this worth the considering ? Wilt thou make light 
of all the terrors of the law, of all its curses and thun- 
derbolts, as if they were but the report of children's pop- 
guns, or thou wert to war with their paper pellets ? Dost 
thou laugh at hell and destruction, or canst thou drink 
the envenomed cup of the Almighty's fury, as it were 
but a common potion ? 

** Gird up now thy loins like a man, for I will de- 
mand of thee, and answer thou me," Job xl. 7. Artf 
thou such a leviathan, as that the scale of thy pride 
should keep thee from thy Maker's coming to thee ? 
Wilt thou esteem his arrows as straw, and the instru- 
ments of death as rotten wood? Art thou chief of all 
the children of pride, even that thou shouldst count his 
darts as stubble, and laugh at the shaking of his spear ? 
Art thou made without fear, and contemnest his barbed 
irons ? Job. xli. Art thou like the horse that paweth in 
the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength, who goeth out 
to meet the armed men ? Doth thou mock at fear, and 
art not affrighted, neither turnest back from God's sword, 
when his quiver rattleth against thee, the glittering 
spear and the shield ? Job xxxix 21,23. Well, if the 
threats and calls of the word will not frighten thee, nor 
awaken thee, I am sure death and judgment wiii. O, 
what wilt thou do when the Lord cometh forth against 
thee, and in his fury falleth upon thee, and thou shalt feel 
what thou readest ? If, when Daniel's enemies were cast 
into the den of lions, both them, and their wives, snd 
their children, the lions had the mastery of them, i^nd 
brake all their bones in pieces, or ever they came at the 
bottom of the den, Dan. vi. 24-. what shall he cfene with 
thee when thou fallest into the hands of the living God, 
when hfc shall g* :pe thee in his iron arms, and grind ^[k! 
crush thee in a thousand pieces in his wrivUv? 



8:2 Directions for Conversion. 

O do not then content! with God I " Repent and be 
converted," so none of this shall come upon thee, Ua. 
Iv. 6,7. * Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; 
call on him while he is near : " Let the wicked forsake 
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; let him 
return unto the Lord, and he will have rnercy on him, 
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

CHAP. VI. 

Containing Directions for Conversion. 

IMark x. 1 7. And there came one and kneeled to him^ aJid 
asked him^ Good Master y ivhat shall I do that I may in- 
herit eternal life ? 

BEFO RE thou readest Xhtse Directions^ I advise thee, 
yea, I charge thee before God and his holy angels, 
that thou resolve to follow them (as far as conscience 
shall be convinced of their agreeableness to God's word 
and thy state) and call in his assistance and blessing, that 
ihey may succeed : and as I have sought the Lord, and 
consulted his oracles what advice to give thee, so must 
thou entertain it with that awe, reverence, and purpose 
of obedience, that the word of the living God doth re- 
quire. 

Now then attend ; " Set thine heart unto all that I 
shall testify unto thee this day ; for it is not a vain thing, 
it is your life," Deut, xxxii. 46. This is the end of all 
that has been spoken hitherto, to bring you to set upon 
turning, and making use of God's means for your con- 
version. I would not trouble you, nor " torment you 
before your time," with the forethoughts of your eternal 
misery, but in order to your making your escape. Were 
you shut up under your present misery without remedy, 
it were but mercy (as one speaks) to let you alone, that 
you might take in that little poor comfort that you are 
cap'ible of in this world ; but you may yet be happy if 
you do not wilfully refuse the means of your recovery : 
Behold, I hold open the door to you ; arise, take your 
iiight : i'set the way of life before, you, walk in it, and 
" yqu shall live, and not die," Z)ewr. xxx. 19. Jer. vi. 16. 
It grieves me to think you should be your own murder- 



Directions for Cojs\tsrsion. 83 

ers, and throw yourselves headloni:^, when God and man 
cries out to you, as Peter in another case to his nJ^ster, 
*' Spare thyself.'* 

Hear then, O sinner ! and as ever thou wouldst be 
converted and saved, embrace the following counsel. 

Direct. I. " Set it down with thyself as an undoubted 
truth, that it is impossible for thee ever to get to hea- 
ven in this thy unconverted slate." Can any other but 
Christ save thee? and he tells thee he never will do it, 
except thou be regenerated and converted, Matt xviii. 3. 
John iii 3. Doth he not keep the keys of heaven ? and 
canst thou get in without his leave? As thou must," if 
ever thou come thither in thy natural condition, with- 
out a sound and,thorough renovation. 

Direct. \1, "Labour to get a thorough sight and 
lively sense and feeling of thy sins." Till men are weary 
«nd heavy laden, and pricked at the heart, and quite sick 
of sin, they will not come unto Christ, in his way, for 
ease and cure ; nor to purpose enquire, " V\ hat shall 
we do?" Matt. ix. 12. and xi. 28. .4cts ii. 2>7 . They 
must set themselves down for dead men before they will 
come unto Christ that they may have life, Jcfn v. 40. 
Labour therefore to set all thy sins in order before thee, 
never be afraid to look upon them, but let thy spirit 
make diligent search, Psalm Ixxviii. 6. Inquire into 
thine heart and into thy life ; enter into a thorough ex- 
amination of thyself, and all thy ways, Psa/tn cxix. 59. 
that thou mayst make a fiill discovery : and call in the 
help of God's Spirit, and a sense of thine own inability 
hereunto, for it is his proper work to convince of sin, 
JohJi xvii. 8. spread all before the face of thy conscience, 
till thy heart and eyes be set abroach : leave not striving 
with God and thy ov/n soul, till it cry out under the 
sense of thy sins, as the enlightened jailor, " What 
must I do to be saved ?" Jets xvi 30. To this purpose, 
" Meditate on the numerousness of thy sins." Da- 
vid*8 heart failed when he thought of this, and consider- 
ed that he had more sins than hairs. Psalm Ix. 12. 
This made him cry out upon the multitude of God*s 
tender mercies, PsolviW. I. The loathsome carcase 
doth not more hatefully swarm with crawling worms, 
than an unsanctified soul with filthy lusts; they fill the 



84 Directions for Conversion. 

head, the heart, the eyes, the mouth o{ him. Look 
back'.rard : Where was ever the place, what was ever 
the time, in which thou didst not sin ? Look inward ; 
What part or power canst thou lind in soul. or body, but 
it is poisoned with sin? What dqty dost lliou ever per- 
form, inlo which poison is not shed ? O, how great is 
the sum of thy debis, who hast been all thy life running 
behind hand, and never didst nor canst pay off one pen- 
ny ! Look over the sins of thy nature, and all its cursed 
brood, the sins of thy life : Call to mind thy omissions, 
commissions, the sins of thy thoughts, words, and ac- 
tions, the sins of thy youth, and those of thy riper 
vears ; be not like a desperate bankrupt, that is afraid 
to look over his books : Read the records of conscience 
carefully. These books must be opened sooner or la- 
ter, Rrv. XX. 12. 

" Meditate on the aggravations of thy sins, as they 
are grand enemies of the God of thy life ; and the life 
of thy soul ; in a word, they are the public enemies of 
all mankind.'* How do David, Ezra, Danid, and the 
•c'ood Lniites aggravate their sins, from the considera- 
tion of their injuriousness to God, their opposition to 
his good and righteous laws, the mercies, the warnings 
they were committed against? Mh. ix. Dan. ix. Ezra 
ix. O the work that sin hath made in the world! This is 
the enemy that hath brought in death., and hath robbed 
and enslaved man, that hath backed the devil, that hath 
digged hell, Rom.y. 12. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Jolm viii. 34. This 
islhs enemy that turned the world upside down, and 
>.o^s cth dissention between man and the creatures, be- 
twixt mim and man, yea, between man and himself, set- 
ling the sensitive part against the rational, the will a- 
•:>"ihist the judgment, lust against conscience ; yea, worst 
of all, between God and man, making the lapsed sinner 
both hateful to God, and the hater of him, Zech. xi. 8. 
O man 1 how canst thou make so light of sin ? This is 
the traitor that sucked the blood of the Son of God : 
that sold him, that mocked him, that scourged him, 
that spit in his face, that nailed his hands, that pierced 
his side, that pressed his soul, that mangled his body, 
that never left till he had bound him, condemned him, 
iVailed him, crucified him, and put him to an open shame, 



Directions for Conveesiok. 83 

Isa. liii. 4, 6. This is that deadly poison, so powerful 
of operation, as that one drop of it shed on the root of 
mankind) hath corrupted, spoiled, poisoned, and undone 
his whole race at once, Horn. v. 18, 19. This the com« 
mon butcher the bloody executioner, that hath killed 
the prophets, burnt the martyrs, murdered all the apos- 
tles, all the patriarchs, all the kings and potentates; 
that has destroyed cities, swallowed empires, butchered 
and devoured whole nations. Whatever was the weapon 
it was done by, sin was it that did the execuiion, Rom. 
vi. 23. Dost thou yet think it but a small thing ? If 
Adam and all his children could be dug out of their 
graves, and their bodies piled up to heaven» and an in- 
quest were made, what matchless murderer were guilty 
of all this blood ? It would be all found in the skirts of 
sin. Study the nature of sin till thy heart inclines to 
fear and loath it ; and meditate on the aggravations of 
thy particular sins, how thou hast sinned against all God's 
"Warnings, against thy own prayers, against mercies, 
against correction, against the clearest light, against the 
free'st love, against thine own resolutions, against prorr.- 
ises, vows, covenants of better obedience. &c. Charge 
thy heart home with these things, till it blush for shame, 
and be brought out of all good opinion of itself, iirra ix. 6. 

'' Meditate on the desert of sin." It crieili up to 
heaven ; it calls for vengeance, Gen. xviii. 21. Its clue 
wages is death and damnation ; it pulls the cui se of God 
upon the soul and body, Gal. iii. 10. Deut. xxviii. The 
least sinful word or thought lays thee under the infinite 
wrath of God Almighty, Rom. ii. 8,9. Matt.yixx. 36 
O, what a load of wr.ith, what a weight of curses, what 
a treasure of vengeance have all the millions of thy sins 
then deserved ! Rom.M. S. Jatne^y.^^. O judge thyself, 
that the Lord may not jvidge ihee, I Cor. xi. 31. 

** Medicate upon the deformity and defilement of sin." 
It is as black as hell the very image and likeness of the 
devil drawn upon the soul, 1 John iii. 8, 10 It would 
more affright thee, to see thyself in the hateful deform- 
ity of thy nature, than to see the dcvti. There is no 
mire so unclean, no vomit so loathsome, no carcase-car- 

H 



86 Directions for Conversion. 

rion so offensivCj no plague or leprosy so noisome as sinf 
in which thou art rolled, and covered with its odious 
filth, whereby thou art rendered more displeasing to the 
pure and holy nature of the glorious God than the most 
iihhy objects, composed of whatever is hateful to all thy 
senses, can be to thee, Job xv. 15, 16. Couldst thou take 
up a toad into thy* bosom ? Couldst thou cherish it and 
take delight in it ? Why, thou art as contrary to the 
pure and perfect holiness of the divine nature, and as 
loathsome as it is to thee. Matt, xxiii. 33. till thou art 
purified by the blood of Jesus, and the power of reneW' 
ing grace. 

" Above all other sins, fix the eye of thy consideration 
on these two." 1. *' The sin of thy nature." It is to 
little purpose to lop the branches, while the root otori- 
ginal corruption remains untouched. In vain do men 
lave out the streams, when the fountain is running that 
fills up all again. Let the acts of thy repentunce (with 
Davi(Vs) go to the root of the sin, Psahn li. 5 . The heart 
is never soundly broken till thoroughly convinced of the 
heinousness of original sin. Here fix thy thoughts, this 
is that that makes thee backward to all good, prone to 
all evil, i?ow. vii. 15. that sheds blindness, pride, preju- 
dice, unbelief into thy mind ; enmity, inconstancy, ob- 
stinacy into thy will ; inordinate heats and colds into 
thy affections ; insensibleness, benumbedness, unfaith- 
fulness, into thy conscience ; slipperiness into thy mem- 
ory ; and in a word, hath put of every wheel of thy soul 
out of order, and made it of an habitation of holiness, to 
become a very hell of iniquity, James ii. 6. This is what 
hath defiled, corrupted, perverted all thy members, and 
turned them into weapons of unrighteousness, and ser- 
vants of sin, Rom. vi. 19. that hath filled the head with 
carnal and and corrupt designs, Af/c. ii. 1. the hand with 
sinful practices, Ua. i. 16. the eyes with wandering and 
v/antonncss, 2 Pet.\\.^ \ 4. the tongue with deadly poison, 
James iii. 8 that hath opened the ears to tales, flattery, 
and evil communication, and shut them against the in- 
structions of life, Zech.y'ii. II, 12. and hath rendered 
thy heart a very mint and forge for sin, and the cursed 
womb of all deadly conceptions, Matt. xv. 19. so 
that it poureth forth its wickedness without ceasing, 



Directions for Co^vEusioy. 87 

2 Fa. ii. 14. even as naturally, freely, and un-vfeariedly 
as a fountain doth pour out its waters, Jer. vi. 7. or the 
raging sea doth cast forth mire and dirt, Tsa. Ivii. 20. 
And wilt thou yet be in love with thyself, and tell us 
any longer of thy good heart ? O, never leave medita- 
ting on the desperate contagion of original corruption, 
(ill with jEfi/n-aim, thou bemoan thyself, Jer. xxxi. 18. 
and with the deepest shame and sorrow smite on thy 
breast, as the publican, T.uke xvili. 18. and v/ith Job ab- 
h6r thyself, and repent in dust and ashes, Job xlii. 6,2. 

The particular evil that thou art now addicted to :" 
Find outatl its aggravation, -et home upon thy heart 
all God's threats against it : Repentance drives before 
it the whole herd; but especially slicks the arrow in the 
beloved sin, and smgles this out i-bove the rest, to run 
it down, Psalm xviii. 22. O labour to make this sin 
odious to thy soul, and double thy guard and resolutions 
against it, bec:\use this hath, and doth most dishonour 
God, and endanger thee. 

Direct. III. ''Strive to affect thy heart with a due 
sense of thy present misery " Read over the foregoing 
chapter again and again, and get it out of the book into 
thy heart. O, study ihy misery till thy heart cries out 
for Christ, as earnestly as ever a drowning man did for a 
boat or the wounded for a surgeon. Men must come to 
see ihe danger, and feel the smfirt of their deadly sores 
and sickness, or else Christ will be to them a physician 
of no value. Matt, ix 12. Then the man-slayer hastens 
to the city of refuge, when pursued by the avenger of 
blood. Men must be even forced and fired out of them- 
selves, or else they will not come to Christ. It was dis- 
ti'essand extremity that made the prodigal think of re- 
turning, /.wA-^ xv. 16. 17. While Z.ao(i/cca thinks her- 
self rich, increased in goods, in need of nothing, there 
is little hope : she must be deeply convinced of her 
wretchedness, blindness, poverty, and nakedness, before 
she will come to Christ for his gold, raiment, and eye- 
salve. Rev. iii 17, 18. therefore hold the eyes of con- 
science open, amplify thy misery as much as possible, 
do notfiee the sight of it for fear it should fill thee with 
terror. The sense of thy misery is but as it were the 
suppuratioa of the wound, which is necessary to the 



^8 Directions for CoNVERsroN* 

cure. Better fear the torments that abide thee novTr 
than feel ihem hereafter. 

Direct. IV. " Settle it upon thy heart that thou arf 
under everlasting inability ever to recover thyself." 
Never think thy praying, reading, hearing, confessing, 
amending, will -vvork the cure ; these must be attended 
to, but thou art undone if thou restest in them, Rom. x. 
3. T!iou art a lost man if thou hopest to escape drown- 
ing on any other plank but Jesus Christ, ^c^5 iv. 12. 
Thou must unlearn thyself, and renounce thy own wis- 
dom, thy own righteousness, thy own strength, and throw 
thyself wholly upon Christ, as a man that swims casts * 
'himself upon the water, or else thou canst not escape. 
AVhile men trust in themselves, and establish their own 
righteousness, and have contidence in the flesh, they 
will not come savingly to Christ, Lukeyi\m. 9. PhiL'ni. 
3. — Tliou must know thy gain to be but loss and dung, 
thy strength but weakness, thy righieoi\sness rags and 
rottenness before there will be an effectual closure be- 
tween Christ and thee Phil. iii. 7, 8, 9. 2 Cof . iii. 5 /va. 
Ixiv. 6. Can the lifeless carcase shake off its grave- 
clothes and loose the bands of death ? Then mayest ihou 
recover thyself, who art dead in trespasses and sins. 
Therefore, when thou goest to pray or meditate, or do 
any of the duties to which thou art here directed, go 
out of thyself, and call in the help of the Spirit, as des- 
pairing to do any thing pleasing to God in thy own 
strength ; yet neglect not thy duty- but lie ai tlie pool, 
and wait in the way of the Spirit — While the Eunuch 
was reading, then the Holv Ghost did send Phili/} to 
him, >^cts viii. 28. 29 when the disciples were praying, 
chafi. iv. 31. Avhen Coifielius and his friends were honr- 
ing. chap. X. 44. then the Holy Ghost fell upon them, 
and filled them all. Strive to give up thyself to Christ ; 
strive to. pray, strive to meditate, strive an hundred 
and a hundred times, strive to do it as Veil as thou canst ; 
and while thou art endeavoring in the way of thy duty, 
the Spirit of the Lord will come upon ihe^ and help 
thee to do what of thyself thou art utterly' unable toper- 
form, ProTy. i. 23. 

Direct. V. *' Forthwith renounce all thy sins." If 
thou yield thyself to the practice of any sin, thou art 



Directions for Conversion. 89 

uadone, Rom. vi. 1 7. In vain dost thou hope for life 
by Christ, except thou depart from iniquity, 2 Tim. ii. 
19. Forsake thy sins, or else thou canst not find mercy, 
Prov. xxviii. 23. Thou canst not be married to Christ, 
except thou be divorced from sin ; give up that traitor, 
or you can have no peace in heaven ; cast the head of 
^heba over the wall ; keep not Delilah in the lap : thou 
must part with thy sins or with thy soul ; if thou spare 
even one sin. God will not spare thee. Never nake 
excuses, thy sins must die, or thou must die for them, 
Paalm Ixviii. 21. If thcJu allow of one sin, though but a 
little, a secret one, though thou mayest plead necessity, 
and have an hundred shifts and excuses for it, the life 
of thy soul must go for the life of that sin. Ezek. xviii. 
2 I . and will it not be dearly bought ? 

O sinner I hear and consider : if thou wilt part with 
thy sins, God will give thee his Christ. Is not this a 
fair exchange ? I testify unto thee this day, that if thou 
perish, it is nut because there was not a Sa\iour provided, 
nor life tendered, but because thou prefcrredst (with the 
Jew) the murderer before the Saviour, sin be fore Christ, 
and "lovedst darkness rather than light,'* Jc//(«iii. 19. 
Search thy heart therefore with candles, as the Jews did 
their houses for leaven before the passover ; labour to 
find out thy' sins ; enter into thy closet, and consider. 
What evil have I lived in ? What duty have I neglected 
towards God? What sin have I lived in against my broth- 
er ? — And now strike the darts through the heart of thy 
sin, as Vbrtd did through Abhalom^s., 2 ^am. xviii. 14. 
Never stand looking upon thy sin, nor rolling tlie sweet 
morsel under thy tongue. Job xx. 12. but spit it out l^s 
poison, with fear and detestation. Alas I what will thy 
sins do for thee, that thou shouldst stick at parting with 
them ? They will flatter thee, but they will undo thee, 
and cut thy throat while they smile upon thee, poison 
tnce while they please thee, and arm the justice and 
wrath of the infinite God against thee. They will open 
hell for thee, and pile up fuel to burn thee : behold the 
gibbet that they have prepared for thee. O serve them 
like Hu7mn^z.n<X execute them as they would have done 
H 2 



90 Directions for Conversion. 

thee : away Mfiih them, crucify them, and let Christ 
only be Lord over thee. • 

Direct. VI. " Make a solemn choice of God for thy 
portion and blessedness," Dent, xxxi. 1 7. With all pos- 
sible devotion and veneration avouch tlwi Lord for thy 
God : set the world, with all its glory and paint and 
gallantry, with all its pleasures and promotions, on the 
one hand ; and set God, with all his excellencies and 
perfections, on the other, and see that thou dodeliberale- 
ly make thy choice, /o^A.xxvi. 15. Take up thy rest in 
God, John vi. 68. sit thee down* under his shadow, Cant. 
ii. 3. let his promises and perfections turn the scale 
against all the world : settle it upon thy heart that the 
Lord is an all-sufficient portion : that thou canst not be 
miserable whilst thou hast God to live upon : take him 
for thy shield and exceeding great reward. God alone 
is more than all the world, content thyself with him t 
Let others carry the preferments and glory of the world, 
place thou th/ happiness in his favour, and in the light 
of his couMtenance, Psalm iv. 6, 7. 

Poor sinner I thou art fallen off from God, and hast 
provoked his power and wrath against thee ; yet know 
that of his abundant grace he doth offer to be thy God 
in Christ, 2 Cor. vi. 1 7, 18. What sayesi thou, man? 
Wilt thou have the Lord for thy God ? Why, take this 
counsel and thou shalt have liim, come to him by his 
Christ, John xvi. 6.. renounce the idols of thy own plea* 
'sures, gain and reputation, 1 Thess.i. 9. let these be puK 
led out of their throne, and set God's interest upper- 
most in thy heart. Take him as God, to be chief ill 
ll\y affections, esti.nations, ip,tentions, for he will not en- 
dure to have any set above him, Rom. i. 24. Psalm Ixxiii.. 
25. 

Direct. Wl. " Accept of the Lord Jesus in all his. 
offices, with all his inconvcnicn.ces, as thine." Upoa 
these terms Christ may be had. Sinner, thou hast un-; 
done thyself, and art plunged into a state of most deplo-- 
rable misery, out of which thou art unable to get ; but 
Jesus Christ is able and ready to help thee, and freely 
tenders himself to thee, Heb. vii. 25. John iii. 30. Be thy^ 
sins ever so many, ever so great, or of ever so long con- 
tinuance, yet thou sl^alt be most certainly pardoned aud 



Directions for Conversio.^. 91 

saved, if thou dost not wretchedly neglect the offer that, 
in the name of God, is here made to ihce. The Lord 
Jesus calleth thee to look to him and be saved, ha. xiv. 
22. to " come unto him, and he will in no wise ci.si ihec 
out,'* John vi. 37. yea, he is a suitor to thee, and be- 
seeches thee to be reconciled, 3 Cor. v. 20. he crieth in 
the streets, he knocketh at the door, he wooelh ihee to 
accept of him, and live with him, Prov. i. 20. Ktv 'in. 
20. If thou dicst, it is because thou would'st not come 
to him for life, John v. 40. 

Now accept of an offered Christ, and thou art made 
for ever ; now give up thy consent to him, and the match 
is made, all the world cannot hinder it. Do not stand 
off because of tby unworthincss, man; I tell thee, no- 
thing in the world can undo thee hut thy unwillingness. 
Speak, man, art thou desirous of the match ? Will thou 
have Christ in all his relations to be thine; thy King, 
thy Priest, thy Prophet? Wilt thou have him with all 
his inconveniences ? Take not Christ hand-over-head, 
but sit down first and count the cost. W^ilt thou lay at 
his feet ? W ilt thou be content to run all hazards with 
him ? Wilt thou take thy lot with him, fall where it 
will? Wiltthon "deny thyself, and take up thy cross, 
and follow him ?" Art tliou deliberately understanding- 
ly, freely, fixedly determined to cleave to him in all 
limes and conditions ? If so, my soul for thine, thou 
shah never perish, but art passed from death unto life, 
Johnm. 15. Here lies the main point of thy salvation, 
that thou be found in thy covenant-closure with Jesus 
Christ ? and therefore, if thou lovest thyself, see thai 
thou be faithful to God, and thy soul here. 

Direct. VJII. " Resign up all thy powers and facul- 
ties, and thy whole interest, to be his.'* " They gave 
their own selves unto the Lord," 2 Cpr. viii. 5. '* Pre- 
sent your bodies a living sacrifice," liom. xii. 1. The 
Lord seeks not yours, but you : resign therefore thy 
body with all its members to him, and thy soul with all 
its powers that he may he glorified in thy body, and in 
thy spirit, which are his, 1 Cor. vi. 20. 

Again ; thou must give up thy whole interest to him^ 
If there be any thing that thou keepest back from Christ,. 
U will be thy undoing, Luk^ xiy. 33. Unless thou wiH. 



92 Directions for Conversion. 

forsake all (in i^^eparation and resolution of thy heart) 
thou canst not be his disciple : thou must hate father 
and mother, yea, and thy own life also in comparison of 
him c^nd as far as it stands in competition with him, Matt. 
X. 37. Luke yiiw 27. Sec. In a word, thou vn\xs\. give 
him thystlf, and all that thou hast, without reservation, 
or else thou canst have no part in him. 

Direct. IX. *' Make choice of the laws of Christ as 
the rule of thy words, thoughts and actions," Psaltn 
cxix. 30. This is the true convert's choice : but here 
remember these three rules ; I " You must choose them 
all :'* there is no getting to heaven by a partial obedi- 
ence ; read Fsalm cxix. 6,128,160. Ezek xviii. 21. 
None must think it enough to take up with the cheap 
and easy part of religion, and let alone the duties that 
are cosily and self-denying, that grate upon the interest 
of the flesh ; you must take all or none. A sincere con- 
vert ; though he makes most conscience of the greatest 
sins, and weightiest duties, yet he makes true conscience 
of little sins and of all duties ; Psalm cxix. 6, 1 13. Matt, 
xxiii. 23. 2. " For all times,** for prosperity and ad- 
versity, whether it rain or shine. A true convert is re- 
solved in his way, he will stand to his choice, he will 
not set his back to the wind, and be of the religion of 
the timesr *' I have stuck to thy testimonies ; I have 
inclined my heart to thy statutes always even unto the 
end. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for 
ever, I will have respect to thy statutes continually,'* 
Psalm CXIX. 31,44,93,111,117. This must not be 
done hand-over-head, but deliberately and understand- 
ingly. The disobedient son said, " I go sir," but he 
went not. Matt. xxi. 30. How fairly did they promise, 
" All that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee, we 
will do it!'* And it is likely they spoke as they meant; 
but when it came to the trial, it was found that there 
was not such a heart in them as to do what they had 
pvomised, Deut. v. 27, 29. 

Thirdly, " Observe the special duties that thy heart 
is most against, and the special sins that it is most incli- 
ned to ; and see whether it be truly resolved to perform 
the one and forego the other." What say^st thou to 
tliy bosom sin, thy gainful sin ? What sayest thou to 



Directions for Conve;;^sion. 9o 

costly, hazardous, and flesh-displeasing duties? If thou 
haltest here, and dost not resolve, by the grace of God, 
to cross the flesh, and go on, thou art unsound, Pt^alm 
xviii. 23. andcxix. 

Direct. X. " Take heed of delaying thy conversion, 
and set about a speedy and present turning ;'* "I made 
haste, and delayed not," Psalm, cxix. 50. Remember 
and tremble at the sad instance ofthe foolish virgins, that 
came not till the door of mercy was ^XriAU'Matt. xxv. 1 \ . 
and of a convinced Felix, who put ofl" Paul to another 
season, which we do not find ever came, ^c/s xxiv. 25. 

come in while it is called to-day^ lest thou should'st be 
haidencd through the deceitfulncss of sin, lest the day of 
grace should be over, and the things that belong to thy 
peace should be hid from thine eyes." >row mercy is 
wooing thee,now Christ is waiting to be gracious to thee, 
and the Spirit of God is striving wiih thee : now minis- 
ters are CiUIing : now conscience is stirring; now the 
market is open, and thou mayest buy oil : now Christ is 
offered for thy acceptance, O strike in with the offers of 
grace ; O ! now or never. If thou make light of this 
oftcr, God may swear in his wraih thou shalt not taste of 
his supper. Luke xvi. 24. 

Direct. XI. " Attend conscientiously upon th« word 
as the means appointed for thy conversion, 'VflT^ze* j. 19. 

1 Cor. iv. 15. Attend, I say, not customarily, bHt con- 
scientiously ; with this desire, design, hbpe, and ex- 
pectation, that thou mayest be converted by it. To ev- 
ery sermon thou shouldst come with this thought ; *»0, 
I hope that God will now come in ; .1 h* ^.c this day may 
be the time, this may be the man by >vl;om God will 
bring n^e home." \Vhcn thou an conung to the crri- 
nances, lift up thy heart tiius to God ; " Lord, let this h^ 
the sabbath, let this be the scr.f;on v. herein I rcay receive 
renewing grace. O let it be Si.id, that to-day such a one 
was born unto thee !'* 

Direct. XII. *' Strike in with the Spirit when he be- 
gins to work upon thy heart :'* When he works convic- 
tions, O do not btiflo them, but join in with him, and beg 
t}je Lord to carry on conviction to coiiver^ion. " Quench 
not ihe Spirit :'* do not outstrive him, do not resist him. 
Beware of stifting conyietions with evil company or 



9i Dire^ons for CoNVERstON. 

\vorldly business. When thou findest any troubles for 
sin, and fears about thy eternal state, beg God that they 
may never leave thee till they have wrought off thy 
heart thoroughly from sin, and brought it over to Jesus 
Christ ; Say to him, " Strike home, L,ord, leave not the 
work in the midst. If thou seest that I am not wound- 
ed enough, that I am not troubled enough, wound mc yet 
deeper, Lord ; O go to the bottom of my corruption, 
and let out the life-blood of my sins." Thus yield up 
thyself to the workings of the Spirit and spread thy sails 
to his gusts. 

Direct. XIII. " Set upon the constant and diligent 
use of serious and fervent prayer." He that neglects 
prayer is a profane and unsanctified sinner, Job xv. 4. he 
that is not constant in prayer is but an hypocrite, Jock 
xxvii. 10. This is one of the first things conversion ap- 
pears in, that it sets men on praying, Jets ix. 11. there- 
fore set to this duty : Let never a day pass over thee, 
wherein thou hasi not, morning and evening, set apart i 
some time for set and solemn prayer in secret. Call 
thy family also together daily and duly, to worship Gad 
with thee Woe be unio thee, if thine be found among 
the families that call not on God's name, Jer. x. 25. 
But cold and lifeless devotions will not reach half way 
t© heaven. Be fervent and importunate ; importunity 
will carry it, but without violence the kingdom of heaven, 
v/ill not be taken, iVfa??. xi. 12. Thou must strive to 
enter, Luke xiii. 24. and wrestle with tears and suppli- 
cations, as Jacob, if thou meanest to carry the blessing', 
Gen. xxxii. 24. compared with Hoseaxii. 4. Thou art 
liudone for ever without grace, and therefore thou must 
set to it, and resolve to take no denial: that man who 
isrixedin his resolution, says, " Well, I must have grace, 
or I will never give over till I have grace ; I will never 
leave seeking, waiting, and striving with God and my 
own heart, till he do renew me by the power of his 
grace." This man is in the likeliest way to win grace. 

Direct. XIV. " Forsake thy evil company, Prov. ix. 
6. and forbear the occasion of sin," /'rov. xxiii. 31. 
Thou wilt never be turned from sin, till thou wilt de- 
cline and forego the temptations of sin. 

I never expect thy conversion from sin, unless thou art 



Directions for Conversion. 95 

brought to such self-denial, as to flee the occasions. If 
thou wilt be nibbling at the bait, and playing on the 
brink, and tampering and meddling with the snare, thy 
soul will surely be taken. Where God doth expose men 
in his providence unavoidably to temptation, and the 
occasions are such as we cannot remove, we may expect 
special assistance in the use of means; but when w« 
tempt God by running into danger, he will not engage 
to support usvvhen we are tempted. And of all tcn.p- 
tations, one of the most fatal and pernicious is evil com- 
pany : O, what hopeful beginnings have these often 
stifled ! O, the souls, the estates, the families the towns 
^hat these have ruined ! How many poor sinners that 
have been enlightened and convinced, ana been just ready 
to give the devil the slip, and have even escup< ci the snr.re, 
and yet wicked company have pulled then* back at last 
and made them sevenfold more the children of hell 1 In 
a word, I have no hopes of thee, except thou wilt shake 
ofF thy evil company. Christ speaketh to thee as to 
them in another case, " It tliou seek me, then let 
these go their way," Joh7i xviii. 8. Thy life lies upon 
it ; forsake these or else thou canst not live, Pvqv. ix. 6. 
Wilt thou be worse than the beast, to run on wJien thou 
seest the Lord with a drawn sword in the way ? jXum, 
xxii. 33. Let this sentence be written in capitals upon 
thy conscience, a companion of fools shall be 
DESTROYED, Prov. xiii. 20. The Lord hath spoken it, 
and who shall reverse it? And wilt thou run upon des- 
truction, when God himself doth forewarn thee ? If 
God doth ever change thy heart, it will appear in the 
change of thy company. O fear and flee the gulf, by 
which so many thousandsouls have been s wallowed up in 
perdition ! It will be hard for thee indeed to make thy 
escape ; thy companions will be mocking thee out of 
thy religion, and will study to fill thee with prejudices 
against strictness, as ridiculous and comfortless. They 
will be flattering thee, and alluring thee, but remember 
the warning of the Holy Ghost ; *' My son, if sinners 
entice thee, consent thou not : If they buy, Come with 
us, cast in thy lot among us ; walk thou not in the way 
with them, refrain thy foot from their path, avoid it, pass 
by it, turn from it, and pass away : for the way of the 



96 Motives to Conversion. 

■wicked is darkness, they know not at what they stum- 
ble ; they lay wait for their own blood, they liirk privily 
for their own lives," Pro-v.\. 10, 18. and iv. 14, 19. 

Thus have I told thee what thou must do to be saved. 
Wilt thou not obey the voice of the Lord ? Wilt thou 
not arise and set to thy work ? O man ! what answer wilt 
thou make, what excuse wilt thou have, if thou shouldst 
perish at last through very wilfulness, when thou hast 
known the way of life ? I do not fear thy miscarrying, 
if thine own idleness do not at last undo thee, in neg- 
lecting the use of the means that are so plainly here 
prescribed. Rouse up, O sluggard ! and ply thy work : 
be doing, and the Lord will be with thee. 

C HAP. VU. 

Containing the Motives to Conversion. 

THOUGH vhatis already said of the JVecessity of 
Gonvtrii-^n. a.vl of -he Mistrics oftht Unconverttdi 
might be suilficiev.t t : i.iduce anv considering ninti to re- 
solve upan \ pre-^t-nt 'urning or conversion unto God, 
yet knowing wbiii a ;;iecc of dtspeuate obstinacy and 
untractablenoss the; he<'it «f man wiuuraliy is. I have 
thought it necessaiy to »dd to \.\\z means of conversion, 
and directions for a covr^nant closure with God and 
Christ, some motives tp persuade you hereunto. 

"Lord, fail me not now, r.t my last atten pt : If any 
soul hath read hitherto, and is vet untouched, now, 
I^ord, fasten on him, and do thy work , now take hin. by 
the heart, overcome bim, persuade him. till he say, 
Thou hast firevaiied for thou -wn't stronger than I — Lord, 
didst not thou make me s fisher of men^ and I hyve 
toiled all this while and ca^tght nothing? Alas 1 th .t I 
should have spent my strength for nought. And now 
am casting my last. Lord Jesus, stand thou upon the 
shore, and direct how and where 1 shall spread my nrt ; 
and let me so inclose with aguments the souls I so» k 
for, that they Tk:i>y not be able to get out. Now, Lord, 
for a multitude of souls 1 Now for a full draught! O 
Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen 
nve this once, O God l" 



Motives to Conversion. 97 

O 1 I am even lost and swallowed up in the abun- 
dance. of those arguments thai I might suggest. If there 
be any point of wisdom in all the world, it is to repent 
and come in : If there be any thing righteous, any thing 
reasonable, this is it : If there be any thing in the world 
that may be called madness and folly, and any thing that 
may be counted sottish, absurd, brutish, unreasonable, 
it is this, to go 07i in thine unconverted state. Let me 
beg of thee, as thou wouldst not wilfully destroy thyself, 
to sit down and weigh, besides what has been said, these 
following motives, and let conscience speak, if it be not 
reasonable thou shouldst repent and turn. 

I. " The God that made thee does most graciou{:ly 
invite thee." 

Firsts His most sweet and merciful nature doth invite 
thee." O the kindness of God, liis yearning bowels, 
his tender mercies I They are infinitely above our 
tlioughts, higher than heaven, Avhat can we do 1 Deeper 
than hell, what can we know ? Job xi. 7, 8, 9. " He is 
full of compassion, and gracious ; long-suffering and 
plenteous in mercy," P«ff/;«ixxxvi. 15. Thisisagreat 
argument to persuade sinners to come in : " Turn unto 
the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, 
slow to anger, of great kindness, and repenteth him of 
the evil." If God would not repent of thv^ evil, it were 
some discouragement to us, why we should not repent. 
If there were no hope of mercy, it were no wonder why 
rebels should stand out ; but never had subjects such a 
gracious Prmce, such pity, patience, clemency, pi^ ty, 
to deal with, as you have. " Who is a God like unto 
t'hee, that p^vdoneth ujiquity :" Mic. vii. 1 8. O sinners I 
see what a God you have to deal with ; if you will but 
turn, " he will turn again and liave compassion on you ;" 
" He will subdue your iniquities, and cast all your sins 
into the depth of the sea," ver^e 19. " Return unto me, 
saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will return unto you," 
Mai. iii. 7. Zech. i. 3. Sinners do not fail because they 
have too high thoughts of God's mercies, but because 
1. They overlook his justice. 2. They promise them- 
selves mercy out of God's way ; though his mercy is 
beyond all imagination, Isa. Iv. 9. great mercies, 1 
I 



98 Motives to Coj^version. 

Ofiron.Kxi. 13. manifold mercies, -WA. ix. 19. tender 
mercies, Psalm xxv. 6. sure mercies, Isa, liv. 8. and 
all are thy own, if thou wilt but turn. Art thou willing 
to come in ? Why, the Lord hath laid aside his terror, 
erected a throne of grace, holds forth the golden sceptre, 
touch and alive. Would a merciful man slay his ene- 
my when prostrate at his feet, acknowleding his wrong, 
begging pardon, and offering to enter with him into a 
covenant of peace ? Much less will the merciful God. 
Study his name, Exod. xxxiv. 7. read their experience, 
.VtVi. ix. 17. 

Secondly. <* His Soul -encjpu raging calls and promises 
to iuvite thee." Ah what an earnest suiior is mercy to 
ihce ! How lovingly, how instantly it calleth after thee \ 
Jiow passionately it v/ooeth thee I " Return, t'hou back- 
sliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause my 
anger to fall upon you ; for I am merciful, saith the 
Lord, and will not keep anger for ever ? only acknow- 
ledge thine iniquity. Turn, O backsliding children, 
saith the Lord, for I am married unto you ; return, and 
I will heal yoar backslidings. Thou hast played the 
harlot with many lovers, yet return unto me, saith the 
Lord,** Jer. iii. 11, U, 2^. " As I live, saith the Lord, 
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but 
that he turn ''I'om his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye 
from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of 
Israel? Ezek.T^'s.'x.in. 11. "If the wicked will turn 
ftom all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all 
my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he 
shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgress 
sions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned to 
him : In his righteousness that he hath done shall he 
live. Repent, and turn you from all your transgressions, 
so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away all your 
transgressions, and make you a clean heart and a new 
spirit, for why will ye die, O house oi Israel? For I 
have no pleasure in the deaih of him that dieth, aaith 
the Lord God ; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye," 
Ezek. xviii. 21,23,30,32. 

O melting gracious words! the voice of a God, and 
not of a man ! This is not the manner of men, for the 
oifended sovereign to sue to the offending traiterous var- 



Motives to CONVEHSIOK. 99 

let. O how doth mercy follow thee and pl^ad with thee ! 
Is not thy heart broken yet ? O that to-day thou wculdst 
hear his voice ! 

2. " The doors of heaven are thrown open to thee, 
the everlasting gates are set wide for thee, and an abun- 
dant entrance into the kingdom of heaven administered 
unto thee/* Christ now bespeaks thee, as Jezebel did 
Ahab, "Arise and take possession." 1 Kings\yA. 15. 
View the glory of the other world, as set forth in the 
map of the gospel, get thee up into Fisgah of the prom- 
ises, and lift up thine eyes northward and southward, 
and eastward and westward, and sec the good land that 
is beyondJorda?!, and that goodly mountain : behold the 
paradise of God, watered with the streams of glory. 
Arise and walk through the land in the length of it, and 
in the breadth of it, for the land which thou seest, the 
Lord will givg it thee for ever, .if thou wilt but return, 
GeTLxiii. l-i, 15, 17. Let me say to thee as Paul tQ 
^grififia^ "Eclievest thcu the pvopheife'" Iftiiou be- 
lievest indeed, do but view what glojrious things are spo- 
ken of the city of God," Paalm Ixxxvii. 3. and know 
that all this is here tendered in the name of God to thee : 
As verily as God is true, it shall be for ever thine, if 
thou wilt but thoroughly turn and be converted. 

Behold the city of pure transparent gold, whose fou^i- 
dations are garnished with all manner of precious stones, 
whose gates are pearls, whose light is glory, whose tem- 
ple is God. Believcst thou this ? If thou dost, art not 
ihou worse than distracted, that wilt not take possession 
when the gates are flung open to thee, and thou art bid 
to enter ? O ye sons of folly, will ye embrace the dung- 
liill, and refuse the kingdom ? Behold the Lord takes you 
up into the mountain, shews you the kingdom of hea- 
ven, and all the glory thereof, and tells you, " AU this 
will 1 give you, if you will fall down and worship me,'* 
if you will subiiiit to mercy? accept my Son, and serve 
me in righteousness and holiness." " O fools, and slow 
of heart to believe !" Will you court the harlot ? Will 
you seek and serve the world, and neglect eternal glory ? 
What I not enter into paradise, when the fl.iming sword, 
which was once set to keep you out, is now used to 
drive you In ! But you will say, I am uncharitable to 



1 00 Motives to CoNVE3.siox. 

think you in^dels and unbelievers. Why, what shall 

1 think you ? Either you are desperate unbelievers, that 
do not credit it, or stark distracted, that you know and 
belie vo the excellency and eternity of this glory and yet 
do so fearfully neglect it. Surely you have either no 
faith, or no reason, and I had almost said, conscience 
shall tell you so before I leave you. 

Do but attend to what is offered you : O blessed king- 
dom ! a " kingdom of glory," I Thess. ii. 12. a " king- 
dom of rie;htcousness," 2 Peter m. 13. a " kingdom of 
peace," iv'o??2. xiv. 17. and an "everlasting kingdom," 

2 Peter i. 1 I. here thou shalt dwell, here thou shaltrcigfi , 
fouever, and the Lord shall scut thee on a throne of glor/, 
MatthcnuyiiyL. 28. and with his own hand shall set the 
royal diadem upon thy head, and give thee a crown, not 
ofthoins, r^r there shall be no sinning nor suffering 
there, 7^er. xxi. 27, and xxii. 3, 5. not of gold, (for that 
sh?.il he viler than the ^rt in that day) but a " crown 
of lifj,'' Jamcn i. 12. a "crown cf righteousness,'* 
2 Tli)i. iv. 8. " a crown of glory, 1 Peter v. 4. yea, 
"'•thou shvilt put on glory as a robe,** 1 Cor. yi\. 43. and' 
shalt " shine like the sun in the lirmament, in the glory 
of thy Father,'* Matt/ierj xii'i. 43. Look now upon thy 
dirty flesh, thy cl.iy, thy worms* meat: this very flesh, 
this lump, this carcase, shall be brighter than the stars, 
JJan. xii. 3. L:» siiort, thou shalt be made like unto the 
"angels of God," Lui-e kk. 36. and "behold his face 
in righteousness," PsaZ/n xvii. 15. Look in now and 
tejl me, Dost thou yet believe ? If not, conscience must 
prenounce thee an infidel ; for it is the very IVord of 
God that I speak. 

But if thou say thou believest, let me next know thy 
resolutions. Wilt thou embrace this for thy happiness ? 
Wilt thou forego thy fcinful gains, thy forbidden plea- 
sures? Wilt thou trample on the world*s esteem, and spit 
in the harlot's face, and stop thy ears at her flatteries, 
and wrest thee out of her embraces ! Wilt thou be con- 
tent to take up with reproach and poverty, if it lie in thy 
way to heaven, and follow the Lord with humble self- 
denial in a mortified and Ilesh-displeasing life ! If so, all 
.is thine, and that for ever. 

And art thou not fairly offered? Is it not pity but he 



Motives to CONVEKSIOX. 101 

should be damned that will needs goon and perish, when 
all this may be had for the taking ? Wilt thou take God 
at his word ? Wilt thou let go thy hold-fast of the world, 
and rid thy hands of thy sins, and lay hold on eternal 
life ? If not, let conscience tell thee whether thou art not 
distracted or bewitched, that thou shouldst neglect so 
happy a choice, by which thou mightest be made blessed 
forever. 

3. '' God will settle unspeakable privileges at present 
upon thee, 1 Cor. iii. 22. Heb. xii. 22, 24. Thoiigluhc 
full of your blessedness shall be deferred till hereafter, 
yet God will give you no little things in hand." 

He will redeem you from your thraldom, John viii. 26. 
he will pluck you from the paw of the lion. Col. i. 13. 
the serpent shall bruise your heel, but you shall bruise 
his head, Gen.m. 15. he shall deliver you from the pres- 
ent evil world, Gal. i. 4. he will redeem you from the 
power of the grave, P*a:/w xlix. i5.' and make the king of 
terrors a messenger of peace to you. He will take out the 
curse tVom the cross, /^s'a/m cxix. 7 1 . and make afiliclion 
the fining pot, tiie fan, the physic, to blow off the cliaft', 
purify the metal, and purge the mind, i)a;2. xii. 10. Isa. 
•xxvii. 9. He will save you from the arrest of the law, 
and turn the curse into a blessing to you, Eom. vi. 14. 
Grt/. iii. 24. He hath the keys of hell and death, and 
shutteth, that no man openeth, i?er'. iii. 7, and i. 18. 
and he will shut his mouth, as once he did the lions, Dan. 
vi. 2 2. that you shall not be hurt of the second death, 
liev.VL. 11. 

But he will not only save you from misery, but instal 
you into, unspeakable prerogatives. He will bpstow him- 
self upon yoii, he will be a friend unto you, and a father 
to you, 2 Cor. vi. 18. he will be a sun and a shield to you, 
Fsalm Ixxxiv. 1 I. In a word he will be a God to you, 
G-en. xvii. 7. and what* can be said more? What yon 
may expect that God should do for you, and be to ycu, 
that he will be, and he will do. She that marries a 
prince, expects that he should do for her like a prince, 
that she may live in a suitable state, and have an answer- 
able dowry : *he that hath a king for his father, or friend^ 
expects he should do for hirA like a king. Alasl the ' 



102 • Motives to Conversion. 

kings and monarch s of the earth, so much above you, 
are but like the* painted butterflies amongst the rest of 
their kind, or the fair-coloured palmer-worm, among the 
rest of the worms, if compared with God. As he doth 
infinitely exceed the glory and power of his glittering 
dust, 60 he will beyond all proportion, exceed in doing 
for ins favourites whatever princes can do for theirs, 
lie will " give you grace and glory, and withhold no 
thing from you," Psabn Ixxxiv. 1 1. He will take you 
for his sons and daughters, and i^ake you heirs of his 
promises, Hcb. vi. 17. and establish his everlasting cov- 
enant with you, Jer. xxxii. 40. He will justify you from 
all that law, conscience and Satan can charge upon you, 
Rom viii. 33, 34. He will give you free access into his 
presence, and accept your person, and receive your 
pj-ayers, ^/.'^. iii. 12. and i. 6. \John\. 11. He will 
abide in you, and make you the man of his secrets, and 
^hold a constant and frieffdly communion with you, John 
xiii. 23. and xv. 15. I John i. 3. His ear shall be open, 
his door open, his store open at all times to you. His 
blessings shall rest upon you, and he will make your 
enemies to serve you, and work out " all tilings for good 
unto you." Pio/w cxv. 13. Rom. viii. 23. 

4. '' The terms of mercy are brought as low as pos- 
sible to you.'* God hath stooped as low to sinners as 
with honour he can : he will not be thought the author of 
shi, nor stain the glory of his holiness: and whither could- 
he come lower than he hath, unless he should do this? 
He hath abated the impossible terms of the first cove- 
nant, Jtr. iii. 23, Markw. oO. Acls -iLxl- 31. and iii. 19. 
Prov. xy.viii. 13. He doth not impose any thing unrea-^ 
sonable or impossible as a condition of life upon you : 
two things were necessary to be done, according to the 
tenor of the first covenant ; 1. " That you should fully 
satisfy the demands of justice forpa^t oftences. 2 That 
you should perform personally, perfectly, and perpetu- 
. ally, the whole law for the time to come.-" Both these 
ure to us impossible, Rom. viii. 3. but behold God's 
ijracious abatement, in both : he doth not stand upon 
satisfaction ; he is content to take of the Surety (and ho 
of his own providing too) what he might have exacted 
from you, 3 Cor. y. 19 He dcchres himself to h?vve 



Motives to Co:i^vYRsio:s, 10>S 

received a ransom, /o3 xxxiii. 24. 1 Tim. ii. 6. and that 
he expects nothing but that you should accept his Son, 
and " he shall be righteousness and redemption to you," 
Jo/in i. 12. 1 Cor. i. 30. And for the future obedience, 
here he is content to yield to your weakness, and omit 
the rigour. He doth not stand upon perfection as a 
condition of life, though he still insists upon it as his 
due,butiscontenttoacceptof sincerity, Ge;2. xvii. l.Pro-i-. 
xi. 20. Though you cannot pay the full debt, he will 
accept you according to that which you have^ v.nd take 
willingness for doing, and the purpose for the perform- 
ance, 2 C'or. viii. 12.2 C/iro7i. vi. 8. Neb. xi. 17. and it 
youcomein his Christ ; andsetyour heaitstopleasehim, 
and make it the chief of your care, he will approve and 
reward you, though the vessel be marred in your hands. 
O ! consider your Maker's condescension ; let me say" 
to you as jVaaruan's servant to him, " INIy father, if the 
prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would you 
not have done it? How much rather when, he saith to 
thee. Wash and be clean." 2 Kingsv. 13. If Cn:d had 
demanded some terrible thing, some severe and rigorous- 
thing of you, to escape eternal damnation, would you 
not have done it ? Suppose it had been to spend all your 
days in sorrow in some howling wilderness, or pine your- 
selves with famine, or to *' offer the fruit of your bodies 
for the sin of your souls,'* would you not have thankful- 
ly accepted eternal redemption, though these had been 
the conditions ? If your offended Creator should have 
held you but one year upon the rack, and then bid you 
come and forsake your sins, accept Christ, and serve him 
a few years in self-denial, or lie in this case for ever and 
ever, do you think you should have stuck at the offer, 
and disputed the terms, and have been unresolved wheth- 
er you were to accept of the motion ? O sinner, return 
and live ; why shouldst thou die, when life is to be had 
for the taking, when mercy seems beholden to thee (as 
it wei^e) to be saved ? Couldst thou say indeed, "Lord, 
I knew that thou wast an hard man," Matt. xxv. 24. 
thou hadst some little excuse ; but when the God of 
heaven has stooped so low and condescended so far, if 
now thou ahpuldst stand off, who shall plead for thee ? 



104 Motives to Conversion. 

Ohjvctioti. Notwithstanding all these abatements, I 
am no more ahle to perform these conditions (in them- 
selves so easy) of Faith^ Repentance^ and sincere obedi' 
cnce, than to satisfy and fuliil the law. 

Ansvjer. These you may perform, by God's grac© 
enabling, whereas the other is naturally impossible in 
this state, even to believei's themselves. But let the 
next consideration serve for a fuller answer. 

5. " Wherein you are impotent, God doth offer grace 
to enable you." *' I have stretched out my hand, and 
no man regarded,^' Prov. i. 24. What though thou art 
plunged into the ditch of that misery from which you 
can never get out, Christ offereth to help you out ; he 
reacheth out his hand to you, and if you perish, it is for 
refusing his help. " Behold, I stand at the door and 
knock, if any man open unto me I will come in," Rev. 
iii. 20. What though you are poor, and wretched, and 
blind and naked? Christ offereth a cure for yourjblind- 
n€ss, a covering for your nakedness, a remedy for your 
poverty ; he tenders you his righteousness, his grace. 
" I counsel thee to buy of me gold, that thou mayst be 
rich ; and white raiment, tiiat thou mayst be cloathed ; 
and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayst 
see," Rev. in. 17, 18. Do you say the condition is im- 
possible, for I have not wherewith to buy ! You must 
know, that this buying is " without money and without 
price," Isa. Iv. 1. thisbuyingisby begging and seeking 
with diligence and constancy in the use of God's means, 
Prov. ii. 3, 4. God commandeth thee to know him and 
to fear him. Dost thou say, Yea, but my mind is blind, 
and my heart is hardened from his fear ! I answer, God 
doth offer to enlighten thy mind, and to teach thee this 
fear ; that is presented to thy choice, Prov. i. 29. " For 
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear 
of the Lord. So that now, if men live in ignci^ance and 
estrangement from the Lord, it is because theyiwill not 
understand and desire the knowledge of his vyay^^' Job 
xxi. 14. " If thou criest after knowledge, if fliou seek- 
est her as silver, Sec. then shalt thou understand the fear 
of the Lord, and tind the knowledge of God," Prov. 
ii. 3 — 5. Is not here a fair offer ? " Turn ye at my re- 
l>roof, behold I will pour out my Spiiit unto you." Prov.. 



Motives to Go^'VERSIOK 105 

1. 23. Though of yourselves you can do nothmg, yet 
you may do all through his Spirit enabling you, and he 
doth offer assistance to you. God bids you " wash, and 
make you clean," Isa. i. 16. you say you are unable, as 
much as the leopard to wash out his spots, Jer. xiii.^3. 
yea, but the Lord doth offer to purge you, so that if 
you be filthy still, it is through your own wilfulness, 
Ezek. r.-nii-v. 13. " I have purged thee, and thou wast 
not purged,'* Jer. xiii. 27. *' O Jervsaleir^ wilt thou 
not be made clean ? When shall it once be ?'* God 
doth wait when you will be made clean ; when you will 
yield }o his motions, accept his offers, and let him do 
for you and in you, what you cannot do for yourselves. 
You do not know how much God will do upon your im- 
portunity, if you will be but restless and instant with 
him, Luke xi. 8. and xviii. 5. 

Though God hath not bound himself by express pro- 
mise to wicked men, to give them grace, yet he hath 
given them abundance of encouragement to expect it 
from him, if they seek it earnestly in his way. His most 
gracious nature is abundant encouragement. If a rich 
and most bountiful man should see thee in misery, and 
bid thee come to his door, wouldst thou not with confi- 
dence expect at thy coming to find some relief ? God 
appoints thee to use such and such means in order to 
thy obtaining repentance and faith ; doth not this argue, 
that God will bestow these upon thee if thou dost ply 
him diligently in prayer, meclilation, reading, hearing, 
self-examination, and the rest of his means ? Otherwise 
God should but mock his poor creatures to put thtni 
upon these self-denying eiideavours, and then Vvhen 
they have been liard put to it, aiid continued waiting 
upon him for grace, deny them at last. Surely if a good- 
natured man would not deal thu 
most merciful and gr^icious God. 



106 Tlie CoNCLtTsiON. 

The Conclusion o/'Mf Whole. 

AND now, my brethren, let me know your minds : 
what do you intend to do ; will you go on and 
dio ? Or, will you set upon a thorough and speedy con- 
version, and lay hold on eternal life ? Hov/ long will yc" 
linger in Sodom ? « How long will ye halt between two 
opinions?" 1 A^n^-^ xviii. 21. Are you not yet resolved 
"whether Christ or Barabbas^ whether bliss or torment, 
whether the land ol QabiiU I Kitigs ix. 13. or the para- 
dise of God be the better choice ? Is it a disputable case, 
whether the Abana and Pharftar of Damascus^ be better 
than all the streams o^Eden ; or whether the vile puddle 
of sin is to be preferred before the water of life, clear 
as chrystal, proceeding out Qi the throne of God and of 
the Lamb? Can the world in good earnest, do that for 
you which Christ can ? Will it stand by you to eternity :* 
Will pleasures, land, titles, or treasures descend wiih 
you ? Psalm, xlix. 17. 1 Tim. vi 7. If not, had you 
not need look after somewhat that will ? What mean 
you to stand wavering, to be off and on ? Foolish ahil- 
uren ; hOvv long will you stick between the womb and 
the world ? Shall I lead you at last no farther than 
Agrififia^ but almost persuaded : why, you are fcr ever 
lost if left there ; as good not at all, as not altogether 
Christians. You are half in the mind to give over your 
former negligent life, and set to a strict and holy course ; 
you could wish you were as some others arc', >^.nd could 
do as they can do. How long will you resi in idle ^Ti^h- 
es and fruitless purposes ? When will you come to a 
fixed, firm and full resolve ? Do not you see liow Satan 
gulls you, by tempting you to delays ? How long hath 
he drawn you on in the way of perdition ? How m^ny 
years have you been purposing to mend ? What if God 
should have taken you off this while ? 

Well, put me not off with a dilatory answer : tell 
me not of hereafter, I must have your immediate con- 
. sent : if you be not now resolved, while the Lord is 
treating with you, and courting you, much less are you 
like to be hereafter, when these impressions are worn 
out, and you are hardened through the deceitfulness of 
sin. Will you give me your hands ? Will you set open 



Tlie Conclusion. 107 

the doors, and give the Lord Jesus the full and ready 
possession ? Will you put your names into his covenant? 
Will you subscribe ? What do you resolve upon ? If you 
are still upon your delays, my labour is lost and all is 
like to come to nothing. Fain I would that you should 
now put in your adventures. Come, cast in your lot, 
make your choice. " Now is the accepted time, now is 
the day of salvation : to day if you will hear his voice." 
Why should not this be the day from whence thou 
shouldst be able to date thy happiness ? Why shouldst 
thou venture a day longer in this dangerous and dread- 
ful condition ? What if God should this night require 
thy soul ? '' O that thou mightest know in this thy day, 
the things that bebng to thy peace, before they be 
hid from thine eyes,** Luke xix. 42. This is thy day, 
and it is but a day, John ix. 4. Others have had their 
day, and have received their doom, and now art thou 
brought upon the stage of this world, here to act thy part 
for the whole eternity. Remember, thou art now upon 
thy good behaviour for everlasting ; if thou make not a 
wise choice now, thou art undone for ever. Look what 
thy present choice is, such must tliine eternal condition 
he, Luke X. 42. and xvi. 25. L'rcv. i. 27 — 29. 

And is it true indeed ? Is life and death at thy choice t 
Yea, it is as true as truth i^yDcut. xiii. 14. why then, 
what hinders but that thou shouldst be happy ? Nothing 
/doth or can hinder but thine own wilful neglect or refu- 
sal. It was the speech of the Eunuch to Philifi, "See 
here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized ?" 
So I may say to thee. See here is Christ, here is mercy, 
pardon, and life ; what hinders, but that thou shouldst 
be pardoned and saved ? One of the martyrs, as he was 
praying at the stake, had his pardon set by him in a box 
(which indeed he refused deservedly, because upon un- 
worthy terms) but here the terms are -nost honourable 
and easy. O sinner I wilt thou burn with thy pardon by 
thee ? Why, do but forthwith give up thy consent to 
Christ, to renounce thy sins, deny thyself, lake up the 
yoke and the cross, and thou carriest the day : Christ 
is thine,pardon,peace,life,and blessedness, all are thme : 
and is not this an ofter worth embracing ? Why shouldst 
thou hesitate or doubtfully dispute about the case ? Is it 



U)8 The Conclusion. 

not past controversy, whether God be better than sin, 
and glory than vanity ? Why shouldst thou forsake thy 
own mercies, and sin againsr thy own life? When wilt 
thou shake off thy sloth, and lay by thine excuses ? 
" Boast not thyself of To-morrow, thou knowest not 
where this night may lodge thee,*' Prov. xxvii. 1. 

Beloved, now the holy Spirit is striving with you ; he 
will not always strive. Hast thou not felt thine heart 
warmed by the word, and been almost persuaded to leave 
off thy sins and come in to God ? Hast thou not felt 
some good motions in thy mind, wherein thou hast been 
warned of thy danger, and told what thy careless course 
would end in ? It may be thou art like young Samuel^ 
who, when the Lord called once and again, knew not the 
voice of the Lord, 1 Sam. iii. 6, 7. but these motions and 
items are the offers, and essays, and callings, and striv- 
ings of the Spirit ; O, take the advantage of the tide, 
and know the day of thy visitation. 

Now the Lord Jesus stretcheth wide his arms to re- 
ceive you ; he beseecheth you by us. How movingly, 
how meltingly, how pitifully, how compassionately he 
calleth ! The church is put into a sudden extasy upon 
the sound of his voice, -'The voice of my beloved 1'* 
Cant. ii. 8. O, wilt thou, turn a deaf ear to his voice ? 
It is not the voice that breaketh the cedars, and maketh 
the mountains to skip like a calf; that shaketh the wil- 
derness, and divideth the flames of fire ; it is not Sinai's 
thunder, but a soft and still voice : it is not the voice of 
mount Ebalf a voice of cursing and terror, but die voice 
of mount Gei-izim^ the voice of blessing, and of glad ti- 
dings of good things. It is not the voice o^f the trumpet, 
nor the voice of war, but a message of peace from the 
king of peace, Efih. vi. 15. 2 Cor. v. 18,20. Methinks 
it should be with thee as with the spouse, "My soul 
failed me when he spake," Carit.x. 6. I may say to thee, 
O sinner, as Martha to her sister, " The Master is come, 
an'! he calleth for thee," John xi. 28. O now with Marij 
arise quickly, and come unto him. How sweet are his 
invitations. He crieth in the open concourse, "If any 
man thirst, let him come unto me and drink," John vii. 
o7. Prov. i. 21. He broaches his own body for thee, 
O ! come and lay thy mouth to his side. How free is 



The CoNCirsTON. 109 

he! he excludeth none : "^yhosoever will, let him 
come and take the water of life freely, Rev. xxii. 17. 
" Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither. Come eat of 
my bread, drink of the wine that I have mingled. For- 
sake the foolish, and live,** Prov. ix. 4, 6. " Come unto 
me, 8cc. take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and 
ye shall find rest to your souls," Matt, xi- 28, 29. 
*' Him that Cometh tome I will in no wise cast out," 
John vi. 37. How doth he bemoan the obstinate refus- 
er ? " O Jerusalem ! Jermalem ! how often would I 
have gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye \¥ould not!'* Matt, 
xxiii. 37. *' Behold me, behold me ; I have stretched 
>out my hands all the day to a rebellious people,'* Isa, 
Ixv. 1,2. O^ be persuaded now at last to throw your- 
selves into the arms of love. 

Behold, O ye sons of men, the Lord Jesus hath thrown 
open the prison, and now he cometh to you, as the ma- 
gistrates once to them,^crfi xvi. 39, and beseeches you 
to come out. If it were from a palace or paradise that 
Christ did call you, it were no wonder if you were un- 
willing ; (and yet how easily was Adam deluded thence !} 
but it is from your prison. Sirs ; from your chains, from 
the dungeon, from darkness, that he calleth you, Isa. 
xlii 6, 7. and will you not come ? He calls you into 
liberty, GaL v. 1 3. and will you not hearken ? His yoke 
is easy, his laws are liberty, his service freedom, -Mo/r. 
xi. 30. James i, 25. 1 Cor. vii. 22. and whatever pre- 
judice you may have against his ways, if a God may 
be believed, you shall find them all pleasure and peace, 
and shall taste sweetness and joy unutterable, and take 
infinite delight and felicity in them, Prov. iii. 17. Psalm 
cxix- 103, 1 11, l€5. 1 Pet i. 8, 

Beloved, I am loth to leave you ; I cannot tell how 
to give you over. I am now ready to shut up, but 
would fain strike this bargain between Christ and you 
before I end. What ! shall I leave you as! found you 
at last ? Have you read hitherto, and are you not yet 
resolved upon a present abandoning all your sins, and 
closing with Jesus Christ ? Alasl what shall! say ? what 
shaU I do ? Will you resist all my importunity ? Have 
K 



no Ttie Coi^cLrsiOK. 

I run in vain ? Have I used so many argumentsj and 
spent so much lime to persuade you, and will you at 
last disappoint me ? But it is a small matter that you 
rejeci nie, you put a slight upon the God that made 
you, you reject the bowels and beseechingof a Saviour, 
and will be found resistors of the Holy Ghost, Acts vii. 
5 1. if you will not now be prevailed with to repent and 
be converted. 

Well, though I have called you long and you have 
refused, I shall yet this once more lift up my voice like a 
trumpet, and cry from the highest places of the city, be- 
fore I conclude with a miserable conclamatum est. Once 
more I shall call after regardless sinners, that, if it be 
possible, I may awaken them ; '^ O earth, earth, earth, 
hear the word of the Lord," Jer. xxii. 29. Unless you 
be resolved to die, lend your ears to the last calls of 
mercy. Behold, in the name of God I make open 
proclamation to you. " Hearken unto me, O ye chil- 
dren, hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not," 
Prov. viii. 32, SS. 

'< Ho, every one thatfhirsteth, come ye to the waters ; 
and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat : Yea, 
come, buy wine and milk without money and without 
price. Wherefore do yfe spend your money for that 
which is not bread ? and your labour for that which sat* 
isfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that 
w^hich is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 
Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your 
soul shall live j and I will make an everlasting covenant 
with you, even the sure mercies of David^ Isa. Iv. 1, 3. 

Ho, every one that is of any manner of disease or 
torment. Matt. iv. 23, 24. or is possessed of an evil spi- 
rit, whether of pride, fury, or lust, or covetousness, 
come f e to the Physician, bring away your sick : Lo, 
here is he that " healeth all manner of sicknesses, and 
all manner of diseases among the people." 

Ho, every one that is in debt, and every one that i$ 
in distress, and every one that is discontented, gather 
yourselves unto Christ, and he will become a captain 
over you, he will be your protection from the arrest of 
the law, he will save you from the hand of justice. Bc- 
)M<\} he is an open sanctuary to you, he is a known re- 



J7/^ CONCLUSrON. Ill 

fuge, -^c-A. vi. 18. Psatm xlviii. 3. Away with your 
sins, and come in upon him, lest the avenger of blood 
Seize you, lest devouring wralh overtake youi 

Ho, every ignorant sinner, come and buy eye-salve 
that thou maystsee, Rev. iii. 18. AAvay \vith thy excu- 
ses ; thou art for ever lost if thou continuest in this slate, 
2 Cor. iv. 3. but accept of Christ for thy prophet, and 
IVe \y\\\ be a lip:'"t unto thee, laa. xlH. 6. Eph. v. 14. 
Cry utito him for knowledge, study his word, take pains 
about the principles of religion, humble thyself before 
him, and he will teach thee his way, and make thee wise 
unto salvation, Matt. xiii. 3^. Luke viii. 9. John v. 49. 
but if thou wilt not foUov,- him in the diligent use of his 
means, but idly sit down because thou hast but one ta- 
lent, he will condemn thee for a wicked and slothful ser- 
vant, Mz/^ xxv. 24, 20. 

Ho, every profane sinner, come in and- live ; Return 
'unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on thee ; O be 
intreated, return and come, thcu that hast defiled thy 
mouth with oaths and execrations, " all manner of sinr> 
and blasphemies shall be forgiven thee," Matt. iii. 28. 
if thou v/ilt but thoroughly turn unto Christ, and come 
in. Though thou wast as unclean as Magdalene., yet 
put away thy whoredoms out of thy sight, and thy adul' 
teriesfrom between thy breasts,'* and give up thyself 
unto Christ as a vessel cf holiness, fit for his use; and 
then " though thy sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
wool ; and though they be as crimson, they shall be as 
white as snow," Luke vii. 47. Isa. i. I 8. 

Hear, O ye drunkards, *' how lon^ will ye be drunk- 
en? Put away your wine," 1 Sam. i. 14. Though you 
have rolled in the vomit of your sin, take the vomit of 
repentance, and thoroughly disgorge your beloved lusts, 
and the Lord will receive you, 2 Cor. vi. 17. Give up 
yourselves to Christ, to live soberly, righteously, and 
godly; embrace his righteousness, accept his govern- 
ment, and though you have -been swine, he will wash 
you, Rev. i. 5. 

Hear, O ye loose companions, whose delight is iu 
vain and wicked society, to sport away your time in car- 
nal mirth and jollity with them, come in at \visdomV> 



Vl^ Tlie Conclusion. 

call, and choose her and her ways, and you shall live, 
Fro-v. ix. 5, 6. 

Hear, O ye scorncrs, hear the word of the Lord ; 
■hough you have made a sport at godliness and the pro- 
iessors thereof, though you have made a scOrn of Christ 
and of his ways, yet even to you doth he call, to gather 
you under the wings of his mercy, Prov. i. 22, 23. In 
a word, though you should be found amongst the worst 
of the black roll, I Cor. vi. 9, 10. yet upon your thor- 
ough conversion you shall be washed, you shall be jus- 
'vified, you shall be sanctified in tlic name of the Lord 
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, verae 1 1 . 

Ho, every formal professor, vhat ;.rt but a lukewarm 
Christian, and rcstest in the form of godliness, 
give over thy halvinrg and thy halting, be a Chris- 
tian throughout, be zealous and repent ; and then, tho' 
thou hast been an offence to Christ's stomach, tliou shalt 
bo the joy of his heart, Rev. iii. 1 6, 1 9, 20. 

And now bear witness that mercy hath been offered 
you : I call heaven and earth to record " against you this 
day, that I have set before you life, and death, blessinjt 
and cursing ; therefore choose life that you may live,** 
Deut. XXX. 19. I can but woo and warn you: I cannot 
compel you to be happy, if I could I would. What an- 
swer will you send me with to my master ? Let me 
speak to you, as Abraban^s servant to them, " And now 
if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell 
me," Gen. xxiv. 49. O for such a happy answer as 2?c- 
, hecta gave them, -jcr. 57, 58. " And they said, We 
will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And 
*hcy called Rebecca^ and said unto her, Wilt thou go 
with this man ? and she said, I will go.'* O that I had 
but this from you I Why should 1 be your accuser, 
Matt. x. 14, 15. who thirst for your salvation ? Why 
should the passionate pleadings and wooings of mercy 
be turned into the horrid aggravation of your obstinacy, 
and additions to your misery ? Judge in yourselves : Do 
you not think their condemnation will be doubly diread- 
Tul, that shall go on in their sins after all endeavours to 
"ecall them ? Doubtless " it shall be more tolerable for 
fyre and 'Szcfon, yea, for Sodom and Gomorrah^ in the day 
of judgment, than for you," Matt. xi. 22, 24. 



The Co^XLcsiox, 115 

Beloved, if you have any pity for your perishing 
souls, close with the present offers of mercy : If you 
would not continue and increase the pains of your tra- 
vailing ministers, do not stick in the birth. If the God 
that made you, have an authority with you, obey his 
command, and come in. If you are not the despisers 
of grace, and would not shut up the doors of mercy 
against yourselves, repent and be converted; let not 
heaven stand open for you in vain : Let not the Lord 
Jesus open his wares, and bid you buy without itioney 
and without price, in vain : Let not his ministers and 
his Spirit strive with you in vain, and leave you now at 
last unpersuaded, lest the sentence go forth against you, 
" The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed of the 
fir6, the founder melteth in. vain, reprobate silver shall 
men call them, because the Lord hath rejected tliem," 
Jer, vi. 29, 30. ' 

Father of spirits, take the heart in hand that is too 
hard for my weakness : Do not thou end, though I have 
done ; half a word from thy effectual pov/er will do the 
work. O thou that hast the key of David^ that openest 
and no man shutteth, open thou this heart as thou didst 
Lydia^s^ and let the king of glory enter in, and make 
this soul thy captive I Let not the tempter harden him 
in delays ; let him not stir from this pjace, nor lake his 
eyes from these lines, till he be resolved to forego his 
sins, and accept of life on thy self-denying terms. In 
thy name, O Lord God, did Igo forth to these labours, 
in tliy name do I shut them up. Let not all the time 
they have cost be lost hours ; let not all the thoughts of 
heart, and all the pains that have been about them, be 
but lost labour. Lorc^ put in tlry hand into the heart of 
this reader, and send thy Spirit, as once thou didst Phi' 
li/i, to join himself to the chariot :^f the Eunuch, while 
he was reading the word. And though I should never 
know it while I live, yet I beseech thee, O Lord God, 
let it be found at that day that some souls are converted 
by tlvese labours ; and let some be able to stand forth 
and say, that by these persuasions they were won unto ' 
thee. Jnien^JTncn, Let him that rcadclh, snv .l'n<?r?, 

K. f^. 



MR. ALLELME'S 

Counsel for Personal and Family Godliness. 

BELOVED, I despair of ever bringing you to sai- 
vation without sanctificaiion, or possessing you of 
*li?ippiness without persuading you to holiness. God 
knows, I have not th© least hope ever to see one of your 
faces in heaven, except you be converted, and sanctifi- 
'ed, and exercise yourselves unto godliness : I beseech 
vou, study personal godliness and family godliness. 

r. Personal Godliness. Let it be your first care to 
^et up Christ in your hearts : See that you make all 
your worldly interests to stoop to him, that you be en- 
tirely and unreservedly devoted unto him. If you wil- 
f\illy and deliberately, and ordinaril)- harbour any sin, 
you are undone, Psalm Ixviii. 21. Ezekiel xviii. 20. 
See that you unfeignedly take the law of Christ as the 
rule of your words, thoughts and actions; and subject 
vour whole man, members and minds, faithfully to him, 
/•sa/m cxix. 34. Romans \i, 13. If you have not a true 
respect to all God's commandments, you are unsound 
Ttt heart, Psalm cxix. 6. 0,'^tudy to get the image and 
impress of Christ up^n you within. Begin with your 
hearts, else you build without any foundation. Labour 
^ to get a saving change within, or else all external per- 
Tormances will be to no purpose : And then study to 
f^hew forth the power of godliness in the life : Let piety 
be your first and great business; it is the highest point 
of justice to give God his due. Beware that none of 
you be a prayerless person ; for that is a most certain 
discovery that you are a Christlcss and graceless per- 
son ; or one that is a very stranger to the fear of God, 
Fsalm v. 7. Suffer not your Bibles to gather dust ; see 
that you converse daily y/ith the word, Johny. 39. That 
man can never lay claim to blessedness, whose delight 
iis not in the law of the Lord, Psalm \. 1,3. Let me- 
(Station and sel--exain1nraUon be your daily exercise- 



Personal and Family Godliness. 115 

Bat piety without charity is but the half of Christian- 
ity ; or rather impious hypocrisy. We may not divide 
the table : see therefore that you dp justly and love mer- 
cy, and let equity and charity run like an even thread 
throughout all your dealings. Be you temperate in all 
things, and let chastity and sobriety be your undivided 
companions. Let truth and purity, seriousness and 
modesty, heavcnliness and gravity, be the constant or- 
naments of your speech. Let patience and humility, 
simplicity and sincerity, shine out in all the parts of 
your conversation. See that you forget and forgive 
wrongs, and requite them with kindness, as you would 
be found the children of the Most High. Be merciful in 
your censures, and put the most favourable construc- 
tion upon your "brethren's carriage, that their actions 
will reasonably bear. Be slow in promising, punctual 
in fulfilling. Let meekness and innocence, affability^ 
yieldingness, and simplicity, commend your conversa- 
tions to all men. Let none of your relations want that 
love and loyalty, reverence and duty, that tenderness, 
care and vigilance^ which their several places and ca- 
pacities call for. This is thorowgh godliness. I charge 
you before the most high God, that none of you be found 
a swearer, or a liar, or a lover of evil company, or a 
scoffer, or malicious, or covetous, or a drunkard, or a 
glutton, unrighteous in his dealings, unclean in his liv- 
ing, or a quarrcller, or a thief, or a backbiter, or a railer ; 
for I denounce unto you from the living God, that des- 
truction and damnation is the end of all such. Prov. xiii. 
20. James v. 12. Rev. xxi. 8. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. GaU\< 
1^—21. 

2. Family Godliness. He that tiath set up Christ in 
his heart, will be sure to study to set him up in his 
house. Let every family with you be a christian church, 
I 4Jor. vi. 19. every house a house of prayer : l^et ev- 
ery housholdersay with Joshua^ " I and my house will 
serve the Lord," Chafi. xxiv. 15. and resolve with Da- 
vid, " I will walk in my house with a perfect heart,'* 
PBalm ci. 2, Let me press upon you a few duties ia 
general. 

PirsC. Let religion be in your families, not as a mrt- 
ter by the by (to be minded at leisure, when <he yfoM 



1 16 Mr. ^Vlleine's Counsel for 

will %wc you leave) but the standing business of itli« 
house: let them have your prayers as duly as their 
meals. Is there any of your families but have lime for 
their taking Jood ? wretched m.ai I canst thou not as 
well find time to pray in ? 

Secondiyy Settle it upon your hearts, that your souls 
are bound up in the souls of your tamily ; they are com- 
mitted unto you, and if they be lost through your neg- 
lect, they will he required at your hands. Sirs, if you 
do not, you shall know that the charge of souls is a 
heavy charge, and that the blood of souls is a heavy 
^uilt. O man, hast thou a charpje of souls to answer 
for, and dost thou not bestir thyself for tl>em, that iheir 
blood be not found in thy skirts ? Wilt thou do no more 
for immortal souls than thou wilt do for the beasts that 
perish? What dost thou do for thy children and ser- 
vants ? Thou providest meat and drink for them agree- 
able to their nature ; and dost thou not the same for 
thy beasts ? Thou givest th^m medicines, and cherish- 
est them when they are sick ; and dost thou not the 
slme for thy swine ? More particularly, 

1. Let the solemn reading of the word of God, and 
singing of psalms, be your family exercises, John v. 39. 
Paalm cxviii. 15- See Christ singing with his family, 
namely, his disciples, Mattheiv xxvi. CO. 

2. Let every person in your families be as duly called 
to an account of their profitmg by the word heard or 
read, as they be about doing your own business : This is 
a duty of consequence unspeakable, and would be a 
means to bring those under your charge to remember 
and profit by what they receive. See Christ's example in 
calling his family to Account. Matthew xvi. 1 1, 13, 15. 

3. Often take an account of the souls under'your 
care, concerning their spiritual states, (herein you must 
be followers of Christ, Matthew xiii. 10, 36, 51. Mark 
iv. 10, II.) make enquiry into their condition. Insist 
much upon the sinfulness and misery of their natural 
state, and upon the necessity of regeneration and conver- 
sion, in order to their salvation. Admonish them gravely, 
oj their sins? encourage their beginnings^ follow them 



Personal anct Family Godliness. 1 1? 

earnestly, and let them have no quiet from you, until you 
see in them a saving change. This is a duty of very 
great consequence, but, I am afraid, most fearfully ne- 
glected : Doth not conscience say, "Thou art the man?" 

4. Look to the strict sanctifying the SaLbaih by all 
your household. Exodus xx. 1.0, Leviticus xxiii 3. Ma- 
ny poor families have little time else : O improve but 
your sabbath days as diligenily in labouring for know- 
ledge, and doing your Maker's work, as you do the 
other days in doing your own work, and I doubt not but 
you may come to some proficiency. 

5. Let the morning and evening sacrifice of solemn 
prayer be daily offered up in all your families, Pm. xcii. 

1, 2. Exod. XXX. 7, 8. Luke i. 9, 10. Beware ye be not 
found among the families that call not upon God's name ; 
for why should there be vvrath from the Lord upon your 
families? ^er.x. 25. O miserable families, without God 
in the world, that are without family prayer ! What, 
have you so many family sins, family wants, family mer- 
cies ; what, and yet no family prayers ? How do you 
pray with all prayer and supplication, if you do not with 
family prayer ? Efih. vi. 1 8. Say not, " I have no ume." 
What! hast thou not all thy time on purpose to serve 
God and save thy soul ? And yet is this it for which thou 
canst find no time? Find but a heart, and you will find 
time. Pinch out of your meals and sleep, rather than 
want for prayer. Say not, *' My business will not give 
me le^ne :" This is the greatest business, to save thy sel F 
and the souls committed to thee. Business! a whet will 
be no let. In a word, the blessing of all is to be got by 
])rayer, Jer. xxix. 11, 12. 2 Sam.y'n. 29. and what is 
ihy business without God*s blessing ? Say not, *' I am 
not able ;" use the one talent, and God will increase it, 
Matthenv xxv. 24, 8cc. But if there is no other remedy, 
ihou must join with thy abler neighbour : God hath spe- 
cial regard to joint prayer, James v. 4, 12. ylcta xii. 5, 
10, 12. 2 Gor. i. I 1. and therefore you must improve 
family advantages for the performing of it. 

6. Put every one in your families upon private pray- 
T. Observe whether they do perform it. Get them the 



118 Mr. i^Vlleine's Counsel for 

help of a form, if ihey need it, till they are able to pVay 
without it. Direct them how to pray, by reminding 
them of their sins, wants, and mercies, the materials of 
prayer. This was the practice of John and of Jesns, 
lAike xi. I, &c. 

7. Set lip catechising in your familieB, at the least 
once every week. Have you no dread of the Almigh* 
ty's charge, that you should "teach these things dili- 
gently to your children, and talk of them as they sit in 
your houses ?" Deut. vi. 6, Sec. and "train them up in 
the -way wherein thQy should go?" Prov. xxii. 6. HatU 
God £0 commended Abraliam^ that he would " teach 
his children and houshold," Gen. xviii. 10. and that 
he had many instructed servants, Gen. xiv. 14. (see 
\\\Q margin) and given such a promise to him thereupon, 
and will you not put in for a share, neither in the praise 
nor the promise ? Hath Christ honoured chatecbisihg 
with his presence, Luke ii. 46. and will you not own it 
with your practice ? Say not, " They are careless, and 
will not learn :'* What have you your authority for, if 
not to use it for God, and the good of their souls ? 
You will call them up, and force them to do your work ; 
and should you not, at leasts be as zealous in putting 
them upon God's work ? Say not, " They arc dull, and 
are not capable :" If they be dull, God requires of you 
the more pains and patience ; but so dull as they are, 
you will make them learn hov/ to work; and can they 
not learn how to live? Are they capable of the myste- 
ries of your trade, and are they not capable of the plain 
principles of religion ? Well as ever you would see tltc 
growth of religion, the cure of ignorance, the remedy 
of profaneness, the downfall of error, fuliil you my joy, 
in going through with this duty. 

Will youanswerihe calls of divine providence? Would 
you remove the incumbent, or prevent the inpendent ca- 
lamities ? Would you plant nurseries for the church of 
Go^l ? Would you that God should build your houses, 
and bles§ your substance ? Would you that yourchildren 
should bless you? O then set up piety iuyour famnies, 
as ever you would be blessed, or be a blessing : kt your 



Personal and Familij Godliness. 1 1 9 

hearts and your houses be the temples of the living God, 
in which his worship (according to all the afore-men- 
tioned directions) may be with constancy, reverently 
performed, /^ror. xxix. 1. "He that being often re- 
proved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroy- 
ed, and that without remedy.'* O be wise in time, that 
■you be not^miserablc to eternity I 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

jiJV earnest Invitation to Sinners to return to Gody 
.in order to their eternal Salvation, i 

CHAPTER I. 

Shelving in the negative tohat Conversion is not^ 
and correcting some mistaken about it. 40 

CHAPTER H. 

Shewing jiositively what Conversion is, K 

CHAPTER in. 
pfthe M'ecessity of Conversion, 35 

CHAPTER IV. 

Shewing the marks of the Unconverted. 53 

CHAPTER V. 
Shewing the miseries of the Unconverted. £5 

CHAPTER VI. 

JSlirectionsfor Conversion, -6^ 

CHAPTER VH. 

The motives so Conversion. 96 

The Cenclusion of the whole, 1Q6 

The Author*s Counsel for Personal and Family 
Godliness. \ 14^ 



C A ]L 1. 



TO THE 



U ]N C O N V E R T ED. 



BY 



mCHARD BAXTER. 



:;*j^^^j-^^j'^^,f\r^^j\r,j\r^^,j\r^j-j^^-jr^srsr\ry\r^ 



1 



i 



A 

CALL - 

TO THE 

UNCONVERTED 



Ezekiel xxxiii. 11. 
Say unio them^ aa I live^ saith the Lord GoJj I Aave no 
/ileasure in I he death of the ivickcd ; but that the wicked 
turn from his way and live ; turn ye^ txirn ye from your 
evil ways ; for ivhy will ye die, O house of Israel ? 

IT has been ths wonder of many, to read in the holy 
scripture, how few will be served : and tliat the great- 
est part even of those that arc called, will be shut ouX cf 
heaven, and tormented wiih the devils in eternal firc> 
Infidels believe not this, and therefore must feel it. 
Those that do believe it, are forced to cry out with St. 
Paul, Rom. xi. 33. the deluh of the richcfi b'.th of the 
wisdom and kno-ivltdge rf God I Hon' unsearchuble are hi-2 
judgments^ and his ways fiast fndini^ out 1 But nature 
itself teaches us all to lay the blame of evil works upoa 
the doers ; and therefore when we see any heinous 
thins: committed, a principle of justice provokes us to 
inquire for him that did it. If we saw a man killed, and 
cut in pieces by the way* -^ve should presently ask, Q 
ivho did this cruel deed ? If a town were set on fire^ you 
would ask, ivhat ivickcd voretch did this ? So when we 
read that the most will be fire-brands of hell for ever, 
we must needs think with ourselves, How comes this 
t-o pass ? Who is it that is so cruel as to bs the cause of 
such a thing as this? And we can meet with few that 
will own the guilt. It is indeed confest by all, that Sa- 
tan is the cause ; but that resolves not the doubt, be- 
cause he is not the principal cause. He does not force 
men to sin, but tempt them to it, and leaves it to theis. 
oflUi. wills, whether they will do it or not. It lies thei'e- 



^M ^ A Call to the UNco^^vEHTtu. 

fbre between God himself and the sinner ; one of them 

niust be the principal cause of all this misery ; for there 

is no other to cast it upon : and God disclaims it : he 

^vill not take it upon him. And the wicked disclaim it 

usually, and they will not take it upon them. And this 

iS the controversy which is here carried en in my text. 

The Lord complains of the people : and the people 

thm!; it is the fault of God. They say, verse 10, If our 

transgressions and owr siiia be ufion t/«, and ive pineaivay 

[n them^ how shall tve then live ? As if they should say, 

if we must die, how can we help it ? As if it were not 

jheir fault, but God*s. Rut God here in my text, clears 

iiimself of it, and tells them how they may help it if 

[hey will, and persuades them to use the means : f.nd 

if they will not be persuaded, he lets them know that it 

is their own fault; and if this will not satisfy them, he 

will not therefore forbear to punish them. It is he that 

■yill be the j'-dge ; and he will judge them according to 

their ways ; they are no judges of him or of themselves, 

:is wanting authciity, and wisdon, and impartiality : nor 

is it the cavilling with God, that shall serve their turr, 

or save them from the execution of justice. 

l\he words of this verse contain, 1. God's clearing of 
himself from the blame of their destruction. This he. 
does not by disowning his law, that the wicked shall die^ 
nor by disowning his execution according to that law, » 
or -giving them any hope that the law shall not be exe- 
cuted ; but by professing, that it is not their death that 
he takes pleasure in, but their returning rather,that they 
may live : and this he confirm.s to them by his oath. 
2. An express exhortation to the wicked to return; 
wherein God does not only command, but persuade, 
and condescend also to reason the case with them. Why 
will they die ? The direct end of this exhortation is, 
that they may turn and live. The secondary ends, upon 
supposition that this is not attained, are these two. 
First to convince, that it is not the fault of God if they 
be miserable. Secondly, to convince them from their 
manifest wilfulness in rejecting all his commands and 
persuasions that it is their own fauit, and they die, even 
because they will die- • 



A' Call to the Ukcomveuted. l-^io 

The substance of the text lies in these observations 
Toll owing : 

Doct. 1. It is the unchangeablfe law of God, that 
wicked men must turn or die. 

Doct. 2. It is the promise ^of God, that the wicked 
shall live, if they will turn. 

Doct. 3. God takes pleasure in men's conversion and 
salvation, but.nonc in their death or damnation ; he had 
rather they would return and live, than go on and die. 

Doct. 4. This is the most certain truth, which be- 
cause God would not have men to question, he has con- 
firmed to them solemnly by his oath. 

Doct. 6. The Lord redoubles his commands and per- 
suasions to the wicked to turn. 

^ Doct. 6. Tlie Lord condescends to reason the casa 
with tliem, and asks the %vickcd, why they wiU die! 

Doct. 7 If after all this the wicked will not turn, it 
is not the fault of God that they perish, but of them- 
selves; their own wilfulness is the cause of their dam- 
nation : they therefore die, because they will die. 

Having laid the text open before your eyes in these 
plain propositions, I shall next speak somewhat of each 
of them in ordcrj though very briefly. 

DOCTRINE I. 

Ti is Ihs unchangeable Law of Godj that nvickedmc.i must 
tumor die. 

IF you will believe God, believe this : there is but 
one of these two ways for every wicked man, either 
Conversion or Damnation. I know, the wicked will 
hardly be persuaded either of the truth or equity of 
this. No wonder if the guilty quarrel with the law. Few 
men are apt to believe that which they would not have 
to be true ; and fewer would have that to be true, which 
they apprehend to be against them. But it is not quar- 
relling with the law, or \\nh the uidge, that will save 
the malefactor. Relieving and regarding the law might 
have prevented his death : but denying and accusing it 
will but hasten it. If it vrere not so- an hundred would 
L 2 



IQ6 a Call to the Unconverted. 

bring their reasons against the law, for one that Woiilii 
bring his reason to the law : and men would rather 
hoose to giTC their reasons why they should not be 
punished, than to hear the commands and reasons of 
♦ heir governors, which, require them to obey. The law- 
was not made for you to judge, but that you might be 
ruled and judged by it. 

But if there be any so blind as to question either the 
.ruth, or the justice of the law of God, I shall briefly 
give you evidence of both. 

And first, if you doubt whether this be the word of 
Gk)d or not, besides an hundred other texts, you may be 
satisfied by these few, Matt, xviii. 3, Verily I say unto 
■.:ouy exce/it ye be converted^ and became as little children, 
ye cannot enter into the kingdom of lieavtn, John iii. 3. 
Verity, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born agaii:^ 
he cannot see the kingdom of God. 2 Cqr. v. \7 . If any 
man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are 
/last away ; behold, all things are become new. Heb. xii. 
14. Without hcliness no mem shall see God. Rom. viii.8, 
"9. They that are in the fesh, cannot please God. JVonu if 
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 
Psalm ix. 17. 27;^ wicked shall be turned into hell, and 
ell the 7iations that forget God. Psalm xi. 5. The Lord 
ioveth the righteous, but the wicked his soul hatetli. 

I need not add any more of that multitude which speak 
the like : if thou be a man that believest 'the word of 
God, here is already enough to satisfy thee, that the 
wicked must be converted or condemned. You must 
either confess that this is true, or say plainly, you will 
not believe the word of God. And if once you be come 
to that pass, it is not likely you will be long out of hell. 
But if you tell God plainly you will not believe him, 
blame him not if he never warn you more, : for to v> hat 
j4urpose,should he warn you, if you will not believe him? 
Should he send an angel from heaven to you, it, seems 
you would not believe. For an angel can speak but the 
\70rd of God : and if an angel should bring you any 
Other gospel, you are not to receive it, but to hold him 
accursed. And surely there is no angel to be believed 
before the Son of God, who came from the Father to 
bring 'jp this ^octrinei Ai\d if you stand on these 



A Call to the Unconverted. 1^7 

terms with God, I shall leave you till he deal with you 
in a more convincing way. God has a voice that will 
make you hear. Though he intrcat yon to hear the 
voice of his gospel, he will make you hear the voice of 
his condemning sentence. We cannot make you b^:- 
lieve against your wills ; but God will make you fed 
against your will. 

But why will you not believe this word of God, which 
tells us that the wicked must be converted, or condemn- 
ed ? It is because you judge it unlikely that God should 
be so unmerciful ; you think it cruelty to damn men 
everlastingly for so small a thing as a sinful life. And 
this leads us to the second thing, which is, to justify the 
equity of God in his laws and judgments. 

And first, I think you will not deny that it is most 
suitable to an immortal soul, to be ruled by laws which 
promise an immortal reward, and threaten an endless 
punishment. Otherwise the law would not be suited to 
the nature of the subject, who will not be fully ruled by 
any lower means, than the hopes or fears of everlasting 
things: as it is in the case of temporal punishment, if 
a law were now made that the most heinous crimes 
'should be punished with a hundred years captivity, this 
might be of some efficacy, it being equal to our lives. 
But if there had been no other penalties before the flood, 
when men lived eight or nine hundred years, it would 
not have been sufficient, because men would know that 
they might have so many hundred years impunity af- 
terwards. So it is in our present case. 

2. When you find in the word of God that so i: is, 
and so it will be, do you think yourselves fit to contra- 
dict this word ? Will you call your Maker to the bar; 
and examine his word ? Will you sit upon him, and 
judge him by the law of your conceits ? Are you wiser 
and better than he I Must the God of heaven come to 
school to you to learn wisdom ? IVUist infinite Wisdom 
learn of folly ? Must the Almighty stand at the bar of 
a" worm ? O horrid arrogancy of senseless 'dust ! Shall 
every mole, or clod, or dunghill, accuse the sun of dark- 
ness, and undertake to illuminate the world ? Where 
were yoa when the Almighty made the laws, that he 
did not call you to his counsel ; surely he made ihem be- 



rJ8 A Call io the Unconvehted. 

lore you were born, \yithr.ut desiring your advice; and 
you came itilotlie world too late to reverse them ; if you 
could have done so great a work, you should have stept 
out of nothing, and have contradicted Christ when he 
\vas on earth, or Moses before him, or have saved Adam 
and his sinful progeny from the threatened .death, that 
bo there niij^ht have been no need of Christ. 

3. If sin be such an evil that it requires the Death of 
Chrint for its expiation, no wonder if it deserve our 
everlasting misery. 

4 And methinks you should perceive, that it is not 
possible for the best of men, much less for the wicked, 
to be competent judges of the desert of sin. Alas, we 
arc all both blind and partial. You can never knowfc ful- 
ly the desert of sin, till you fully .know the evil of sin : 
and you can never fully know the evil of sin, till you 
iuUy know the excellency of the ^oul which it de- 
forms : no, nor till you know the infinite excel-; 
iency, almightiness, and holiness of that God against 
whom it is committed. When you fully know 
these, you bhall fully know the desert of sin. You know 
liiat the offender is too partial to judge the law, or the, 
proceeding of his Judge. 

5. Can you think that unholy souls are^^/or heaven? 
Alas, they cannot love God here^ nor do him any service 
nvhich he can accept. They are contrary to God, they 
loath that which he most loves ; and love that which he 
abhor^ ; they are incapable of that imperfect commun- 
ion with him, which his saints here partake of. How 
then can they live in that most perfect love of him, and 
iuU delight and communion with him, which is the bles- 
sedness of heaven I 

USE. 

I BESEECH you now, all that l(}ve your souls, that 
instead of quarrelling with God and his word, you 
will presently stoop to it, anduss^it for your good. You 
must, ere long be converted or condemned ; there is jio 
other way but tumor die. When God, who cannot lie, 
has told you this, when you hear it from the Maker and 
Judge of the world ; it is time for him ihat has ears, to* 
hear. By this time you may see what you have to trust . 



A Call to the U^'convehted. 12^ 

to. You are but dead and damned men, except you will 
be converted. Should I tell you otherwise, I should 
deceive with a lie. Should I hide this from you, I 
should undo you and be guilty of your blood. A^ou see 
then, though this be a rougli, unwelcome doctrine, it ib 
such as we must preach, and you n ust hear. It is ea- 
sier to hear of hell, than feel it. Hell would not be so 
fuUjif people were but willing to know their case, and to 
hear and think of it. The reason v/hy so few escape it, 
is, because they strive not to enter in at the strait gate 
of conversion, and to go the narrow way of holinesr, 
while they have time : and they strive not,bec:iuse they 
are not awakened to a lively feeling of the danger that 
they are in ; and they are not r.wakencd, because they 
are loth to hear, orthinkof it; and that is partly through 
foolish tenderness, and carn?l self-love; and partly, be- 
cause they do not well believe the word that threatens 
it. If you will not thoroughly believe this truth, me- 
thinks the weight of it should force ycu to remember it ; 
and it should follow you, and give no rest, till you were 
converted. If you had but once heard this word, by the 
voice of an angel, Thou must be converted or condemned : 
turn or die : would it not fasten on your mind, and haunt 
you night and day? so that in your sinning you would 
remember it i as if the voice was still in your ears, 
turn or die! O happy were your souls, if it might thus 
work upon you. and never be forgotten, or let you alone 
till it have driven home your hearts to God. But if you 
will cast it out by forget fulness, or unbelief, how c?n i: 
work to your conversion and salvation? But take this 
with you to your sorrow, though y^u may put it out o? 
your minds,youcannotput it out of theBible : but there it 
will still stand as a sealed truth which ycu shall experi- 
mentally knov/ forever, that there is no other way but 
turrr or die. 

O what is the reason then that the hearts of sinnerr. 
are not pierced with such a weighty truth. Believe it, 
this drowsy, careless temper will not last long. Conver- 
sion and condemnation are both of them awakening 
things ; and one of them will make you feel, ere long. 
I can foretel it as truly as if I saw it with my eyes, that 
either grace or hell v.ill shertly bring these matters to 



130 A Call to the Ukcon^'Erted 

the quick, and make you say, Jl'/iat have I dene ? JV/iac 
a foolish: wicked course huve I taken ? The scornful and 
the stupid slate of sinners will last but a little while, 
as soon as ihey cither turn or die, the presumptuous 
dream will be at an end ; and then their wits and feel- 
ings will return. 

Bat there are two things which are like lo harden the 
unconverted, .except they can be taken out of the way ; 
and thsit is the misunderstanding; of those two words, the 
WICKED and turn. Some think it is trUe, the wicked 
must turn or die : but what is that to me ? I am not 
wickeJi though I am a sinner, as all men arc. Others 
think, It is true that lue must turii from cur evil ivays ; 
but I am turned long ago. And thus, while wicked men 
thinJt they are not wicked, but are already converted, 
we ?03e all our labour in persuading them to turn. I 
shall, therefore, before I go any farther, tell you who 
are mecmt by the wicked, and who they are that must 
turn or die ; and also, what is meant by turning ; and 
who they are that are truly^^converted 

You may observe no man is a wicked man that is con-^ 
verted ; and no min is a converted man that is wicked ; 
so thiit to be a vv'icked man, and an unconverted man is 
all one. And therefore, in opening one, we shall open. 
both. 

Before I c:m tell you what either wickedness or con- 
version is, I must go to the baliom and fetch up the 
matter from the beginning. 

It pleased the great creator of the world to make three 
sorts of living creatures. Angels he made pure spiiits 
vyithout fiesli, and therefore he made them only for hea- 
ven, and not to dwell on earth. Brutes were made 
flesh ; and therefore they were made only for earth, and 
not for heaven. Man is of a middle nature, between 
both, as partaking of both flesh and spirit : and there- 
fore he was made both for heaven and earth. But as 
his flesh was made, to be but a servant to his spirit, so 
is \\t ipade for earth, but as his way to heaven ; and 
not that earth shall be his home, or happiness. The 
blessed state which man was made for, was to behold 
the glorious majesty of the Lord, and to praise him 
among his lioly angels, and to love him; and be filled- 



A Call to the Unconveeted. 131 

-with his love forever. And as this was the end which 
man was made for, so God gave him means filled to at- 
tain it. These means were principally two. First, the 
right inclination, and disposition of the mind of man. 
Secondly, the right ordering of his life and practice. — 
For the first, God suited the disposition of man to lus 
end; giving him such knowledge of God as was fit fpr 
him in his present staie, and a heart inclined to God in 
holy love. But yet he did not confirm him in this condi- 
tion ; but, having made him a free agent, he left him in 
the hands of his own free will. For the second, God 
did that which belonged to him ; that is, he gave man a 
perfect law, requiring him to continue in the love of 
God, and perfectly to obey him. By the wilful breach 
of this law, man did not only forfeit his hopes of ever- 
lasting life, but also turned his heart from God, and fix>- 
ed it on these lower things ; and hereby bl ttcd out the 
spiritual image of God from his soul. - So that man 
did both fall short of the glory of God, which was 
his end, and put himself out of the way by which he 
should have a' tainer! it ; and this botk as to the fram.e of 
his heart, and of his life. The holy inclination of his soul 
to God, he lost: and instead of it he contracted an in- 
clination to the pleasing of 'his flesh by earthly things ; 
growing strange to God. and acquainted with the crea- 
ture : and the course of his life was suited to the incli- 
Tiation of his heart : he lived to his own will and not to 
God: he sought the creature for the pleasing of his 
flesh, instead of seeking to please the Lord. With this 
nature, or corrufit inclination^ we are all now born into 
the world ; ioTwho can bring a clean thing out of an un- 
clean ? Job xiv. 4. As a lion has a fierce and cruel na- 
ture, before he does devour; and as an adder has a ven- 
omous nature, before she stings ,• so in our very infancy 
we have those sinful natures, or inclinations before we 
^ think, or speak, or do amiss. And hence springs all the 
sin of our lives. And not only so, but when God has. of 
his mercy provided us a remedy, even the Lord Jesus 
Christ, to be the Saviour of our souls, and bring us back 
to God, we naturally love our present state, and are loth 
to be brought out of it, and therefore are set against the 
means of our recovery j and though custom has taught 



lo^ A Call to //f^ Uncoxveuted. 

us to thRiik Christ for his good \v ill, yet we refuse hii, 
remedies, and desire to be excused when we are com- 
inanded to take the medicines which he offers, and arc 
called to forsake all, and follow him to God and glory. 

In these few words you have a true description of our 
natural state ; and consequently of a wicked man. For 
every man that is in this siate of corrupted nature, is a 
wicked man, and in a state of death. 

By this you may understand what it is to be convert 
cd; to which end you must further know, that the mer- 
cy of God, not willing that man should perish in his 
sin, provided a remedy by causing his son to take our na- 
ture upon him, and being in one person, God and man, 
to become a mediator between God and man ; and by 
dying for our sins on the cross, to ransom us from the 
curse of God, and the power of the devil : and having 
thus red ;emed us, the Father has thus delivered us into 
his hands, as ///* oiy/z. Hereupon the Father and the 
Mediator make anew law and covenant for man: not 
like the first, which gave life to none but the perfectly 
obedient, and condemned man for every sin: But 
Christ has made a law of grace, or a promise of pardon 
a?id everlasting life to all that by true repentance, and by 
faith in Christ, are converted unto God. Like an act of 
oblivion, which is made by a prince, to a company of re- 
bels, on condition thsy will lay down their arms, and 
come in, and be loyal subjects for the time to come. 

But, because the Lord knows that the heart of man is 
grown so wicked, that men will not accept of the reme- 
dy, if they be left to themselves, therefore the holy 
Ghost has undertaken it ashis office to inspire the Apos- 
tles, and seal the scripture by miracles ; and to illumiiv- 
-ate and convert the souls of men. 

So that you see, as there are three persons in 'the 
trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Bfo\y Ghost ; so. 
each of these persons have their several works, whicb 
are eminently ascribed to them. 

The Father's works were, to create us, to rule us, as 
his rational creatures, by the law of nature ; and judge us 
thereby: and ui mercy to provide usa Redeemer when we 
were lost ; aiSl to send his Son, and accept his ransom. 

The works of the Son, for ijs, were these ; te ransOni; 



J Call to the Unoonveuted. iSo 

uud rcaecm us by his sufferinp^s and rij^hteousness ; to 
'^•ive out ihe promise or law qf grace ; and ruleand judge 
the world as their Redeemer, on terms of grace, and to 
make intercession for us, that the benefits of his death 
may be communicated, and to send the Holy Ghost, 
which the Father also does by the Son. 

The works of the Holy Ghost for us, are these : to 
indite the holy scriptures by inspiring and guiding the 
prophets and apostles ; and sealing the word by his mi- 
raculous gifts and works ; and the illuminating, and 
exciting the ordinary ministers of the gospel; and so 
•enabling them and helping them to publish that word : 
and by the same word, illuminating and converting the 
souls of men. So that as you could not have been rea- 
sonable creatures, if the Father had not created you, nor 
have had ixny access to God, if the Son had not redeemed 
you ; so neither can you be saved, except the Holy 
Ghost do sanctify you. 

So you may see the several causes of this woik. The 
Father sends the Son : The Son redeems us and makes 
the promise of grace : the Holy Ghost indites and seals 
this gospel: the apostles are the Secretaries of the Spirit 
to write it : the Preachers of the gospel proclaim it, and 
persuade men to embrac'3 it ; and the Holy Ghost makes 
their preaching effectual, by opening the hearts of men 
to entertain it. And all this to repair the image of 
God upon the soul; to whom it is revolted; and to 
take it off the creature and set it again upon God ; 
and so to turn the current of the life into a heavenly 
course, which before was earthly ; and all this by the 
entertainment of Christ, by faith, who is the physician 
of the soul. 

By this you may see what it is to be ?nc^ecf,and what it 
is to be converted. Which I think will be yet plainer, if 
I describe them as consisting of their several parts : 
and for the first, a ivicked ma?i may be known by these 
three things. 

First, He is one who places his chief content on earth, 

and loves the 'creature more than God; and his fleshly 

prosperity above the heavenly felicity : he savours the 

things of the flesh, but neitherdiscerns, nor savours the 

M 



i 31 A Call to ihe fecoNVERTEB. 

liiin^s of the Spirit : though he will say, thai heaven i» 
Wetter than earth, yet does he not really so esteem it- 
If he might be sure of earth he would let go heaven ; 
ana h?d rather stay here, than be removed thither. A 
life of perfect holiness, in the sight of God, and in his 
love, and praises forever in heaven, do not find such lik- 
ing with his heart, as a life of health and wealth, and 
honour upon earth. And though he falsely profess that 
he loves God above all, yet indeed he never felt the 
power of divine love, but his mind is more set on the 
.world, cr fleshly pleasures, than on God. In a word, 
whoever loves earth above heaven, and fleshly prosper- 
ity more than God, is a wicked unconverted man. 

On the other side, a converted man is enlightened to 
discern the loveliness of God : and so believes the glory 
ihat is to be had with God, that his heart is set more 
upon it than on any thing in this world. He had rath- 
er see the face of God, and live in his everlasting love, 
than have all the wealth or pleasures of the world. He 
sees that all things else are vanity; and nothing butGod 
can fill the soul: and therefore, let the world go which 
way it will, he lays up his treasuresand hopes in heaven ; 
^nd for that he is resolved to let go all. As the fire 
mounts upwards, and the needle that is touched with 
the load stone turns to-the North : So the converted soul 
is inclined to God. Nothing else can satisfy him : nor 
can he find any content and rest but in his love. In a 
word, all that are converted, esteem and love God better 
than all the world , and the heavenly felicity is dearer 
to them than their fleshly prosperity. 

Secondly, A ivicked man is one that makes it ih^firin- 
cifial business of his life to firosfier in Me 7yor/rf, and attain 
his fleshly ends. And though he may read, and hear, 
' and do much in the outward duties of religion, and for- 
bear disgraceful sins ; yet this is but by the bye, and he 
never makes it the business of his life to please God, 
and attain everlasting glory. He puts off" God, with 
the leavings of the world, and gives him no more ser- 
vice, than the flesh can spare. * 

On the contrary, ^converted man is one that makes 
-it the /irincifial business of his life to please Goc?, and to be 
.saved ; and takes all the blessings of this life, but as ac 



ui Call to the Unconverted. 13.') 

commodations in his journey towards another life, and 
uses the creature in subordination to Ciod ; he loves a 
holy life, and longs to be more holy ; he has no motions 
of sin, but what he hates and lonp:s, and prays, and strives 
to be rid of. The bent of his life is for God : therefore 
he dare not wilfully live in any. known sin. Therein 
nothing in this world so dear unto him, but he can give 
it up to God, rfed forsake it for the hopes of glory. 

Thirdly, the soul of the wicked mm\ did never, truly 
(iiscern, and relish the mystery cf redemption, nor 
thankfully entertain an ofiered Saviour, nor is he taken 
up wilh the love of the Redeemer, nor willing to be ruled 
by him, that he may be saved from the guilt and power 
of his sins, and be recovered unto God ! but his heart i% 
insensible of this unspeakable benefit,and is quite against 
the healing means, by which he should be recovered. — 
He never resigns up his soul to Christ, and to the mo- 
tions and conduct of his word and Spirit. On the con- 
trary, the converttd soul, having felt himself undone by 
sin ; and perceiving that he has lost his peace with God, 
and the hopes of Heaven, and is in danger of everlasting 
misery, does thankfully entertain the tidingsof redemp- 
tion ; and believingin the Lord Jesus as his only Saviour, 
Tcsigns up himself to him for Wisdom, Rip;l»teou3ness, 
Sanctification and Redemption. He takes Christ as 
the life of his soul, and lives by him, and uses him as a 
salve for every sore, admiring the \\isdom and love of 
God, in this wonderful work of man's redemption. In 
a word, Christ does even dwell in hi§ heart by faith, and 
the life which he now lives is by faith of the Son of 
God, who has loved him, and given himself for him. — - 
Yea, it is not so much he that lives, as Christ in him. 

You see now, who are the wicked and who are the 
converted. Ignorant people think that if a^i^san^jlji^ no 
swearer, or curser, or railer, or drunkard, or jtornicator, 
or extortioner, nor wrong any body in his dealings, and 
if he go to church and say his prayers, he cannot be a 
wicked man. Or if a man who has been guilty of drun- 
kenness, swearing, or the like vices, do but forbear 
them, they think that this is a converted man. Others 
thinkj, if a man who has been an enemy and scorner of 
religion, do but approve it, and join himself with good 



i S6 J Call to the Unconverted. 

men, and be hated for it by the wicked, this must needs 
be a converted man. And some arc so foolish as to 
ihink they are converted bytakinp; up somenew opinion, 
or by fjiUing into some party, as Anabaptists, Quakers, 
I'apists, or such like. And some think if they have but 
becnafTrightcdby the fears of hell, and thereupon have 
purposed and promised amendment, aniltaken up a life 
of civil behaviour and outward religion, tliis must needs 
be true conversion. And these are the poor deluded 
souls that are like to loose the benefit of all our persua- 
sions: and when they hear that the wicked must turn 
■jr die, they think that this is not spoken to them ; for 
they are not ni^ichcd, but are turned already. And there- 
fore it is that Christ told some of the rulers of the Jews, 
\vho were more moral and civil than the common people, 
xhdii fiubll cans and harlots shall go into the kingdom of 
God before thcrn, Tvlat. xxi. 31. Not that a harlot or 
gross sinnoi' can be saved without conversion; but be- 
cause it was easier to make these gross sinners perceive 
their sin, and the necessity of a change. 

O Sirs, conversion is another kind of work, than piost 
are aware of: it is not a small matter to shew man the 
amiable excellencies of God, till he be taken up with 
such love tojiim as cannot easily be quenched : to break 
the heart for sin, and make him fly for refuge to Christ, 
and thankfully embrace him as the life of his soul; to 
have the very bent of the heart and life changed ; so that 
he renounces that which he took for his felicity, and 
places his, felicity where he never did before ; and lives 
not to the same end, and drives not on the same design 
in the world as formerly he did. He that isin Christ k 
2Ln€w creature: old t/dngs are fiassedaivay ; behold all 
rhing? are^become new, 2 Cor. v. 17. He has a new un- 
ciersf Jiij^Un^.a new will and resolution, new sorrows and 
desirc?ijana FaVe,and delight ; new thoughts, new speech- 
es, new company, (if possible) and a new conversation. 
Sin, v/hich before was a jesting matter with him, is now 
so odious, that he flies from it as from death. The 
world which v.ras so lovely in his eyes, does not appear 
but as vanity and vexation; God, who was before neg- 
lected, is now the only happiness of his soul ; before, he 
was fortrotien ; but now he is set next the heart, and all 



A Call to the Unconvejited. 1 3? 

things must give place to him : and the heart is taken 
up in the attendance and ebservance of him: and is 
grieved when he hides his face, and never thinks itself 
well without him. Christ himself who was wont to be 
slightly thought of, is now his only hopcand refuge, and 
he lives upon him as on his daily bread ; he cannot pray 
without him, nor rejoice without him, nor think,nor speak 
nor live without him. Heaven itself which before was 
looked upon but as a tolerable reserve, v.hich he hoped 
might serve better than hell, when he could not stay 
any longer in the world, is now taken for his home, the 
place of his only hope and rest, where he shall see, and 
love, and praise that God who has his heart aLeady. — 
The Bible which was before to him but as a commoii 
book, is now as the law of God, as a letter written to him 
from Heaven, and subscribed with the name of the 
Eternal Ala jest ij ; it is the rule of his thoughts and wci ds 
and deeds ; the commands are binding, and tiie promi- 
ses of it speak lite to his soul. In short he has a new 
end in his thought, and a new way in his endeavours, 
and therefore his heart and life are new. So that this 
is not a change in one or two, or twenty points , but in 
the whole soul and canversation. 

Do you believe this, Sirs, or do you not ? Surely you 
dare not say you do not. These are not controversies, 
where one pious man is of one mind, and another of 
of another; all christians are agreed in this, and if you 
will not believe the God of truth, and that in a case 
where every sect and party believe him. you are utterly 
inexcusable. 

But if you do believe (his, how comes it to pass that 
you live so quietly in an unconverted state ? Do yoiL 
know that you are converted ? Can you find this won- 
derful change upon your souls ? Have you been thus 
born again, and made anew ? If you cannot tell the day or 
week of your change, do you find that the work is done- 
And that you have such hearts as are before descri- 
bed? Alas, the most follow their worldly business and- 
little trouble their minds with such thoughts. And if 
they be but restrained from scandalous sins,and con say, i 
am no whoremonger^ or thief, or curser^or swear er^or ?/,'..- 
M2 



158 A Call to the Ukcokverted. 

filer or extortioner ', Ig-o tochurch end sau my firauerf^^ they 
think this is true ccnversion and they shall be suved as 
■well as any. Alasl'.his is a foolish cheating of yourselves. 
This is too gross a neglect of your immortal souls. Can 
you make so light of heaven and hell ? Your corpses 
must shortly lie in the dust, and angels or devils will 
presently seize upon your souls, and every man and 
Avoman of you all will shortly be among other company, 
and in another case than now you are ; you will dwell 
in those houses but alitlle longer ; you will work in your 
shops and fields but a little longer ; you will sit in these 
^eats and dwell on this eartlibut a little longer ;,you will 
:;ee with these eyes mid hear with those cars, snd speak 
vith those tongues but a little longer ; and can you for- 
:^eithis? O wiialaplace will youbesliortly in,of joy or 
torment ! Oh what a sight will you shortly see in heaven 
jr hell ! O wh.it thoughts will shortly fill your hearts 
^vith unspsakaUe delight or horror! What work will 
you be employed in ! To praise the Lord with saints 
and angels, or to cry out in fire unquenchable with de- 
vils 1 And should all this be forgotten ? And all this will 
be endless, and sealed up by an unchangable decree — 
Eternity ! eternity ! will be the measure of your joys or 
borrows, and can this be forgotten? And all this ir> 
true, most certainly true : wdien you have gone up and 
down a little longer, and slept and awaked a few times 
more, you will be dead and gone and find all true \yhich 
now I tell you; and can you now forget it? You shall 
'.hen remember that you read this sermon, and that on 
thi^daij^andin this f dace yowvfQVQ remembered of these 
things ; and yet shall they be now so much forgotten ? 

Beloved, if the Lord had not awakened me to believe 
and lay to heart these things myself, I should have per- 
ished forever : but if he has made me sensible of them, 
it will constrain me. to compassionate you. If your eyes 
were so far opened as to see hell^ and you saw your 
neighbours that were unconverted, dragged thither with 
hedious cries, tho' they were such as you accounted 
honest people on earth; such a sight v^ould make you 
warn all about yo\i lest they should go to that place of 
torment. Why faith is a kind of sight; it is the eye 
of the soul, the evidence of things not scon j if I believe 



J Call to the Unconvekted. i ;39 

God, it is next to seeing : and therefore I beseech you 
excuse me if I be as earnest \viih you about tliesc mut- 
ters.as if I^had seen them. If I were to die to-morrow, 
and it were in my power to come again from another 
world and tell you what I had seen, would you not be 
willing to hear me ? And would you not believe and re- 
gard what I should tell you ? If 1 mig;ht preach one ser- 
mon to you after I am dead, and have seen what is done 
in the world to come, would you not plainly have me 
speak the truth, and would you not croud to hear me ? 
And would you not lay it to heart? But this must not 
he ; God' has his appointed way of teaching you ; and he 
will not humour unbelievers so far as to send men from 
the dead to them ; and to alter his established way ; U 
any man quarrel with thesun, God will not humour him 
so far as to set him up a clearer light. Friends, I beseech 
you regard m& now, as you would do if I should come 
from the dead to you; for I can give as fwll assurance of 
the truth of what I say to you, as if I had been there and 
seen it with my eyes ; for it is possible for one from the 
dead to deceive you. Believe this, or believe nothing. 
Believe, and obey this, or you are undone : now, as ever 
you believe the word of God, and -as ever you care for 
the salvation of your souls, let me beg of you this rea- 
sonable request ; that you would without any more de- 
lay, remember whatyou hear»l,and enterinto an earnest 
search of your hearts, and say unto yourselves-— "is it so 
indeed ? Must I turn or die ? Must I be converted or 
condemned? It is time for me then to look about me 
before it be too late. O why did I not look after this lilt 
now ? Why did I venturously put off so great a busi- 
ness ? Was Ij awake? O blessed God what a mercy is 
it that thou didst not cut off my life in all this while? 
WellGod forbid that I should neglect this work any lon- 
ger. What state is my soul in r Am I converted or 
am I not? Was ever such a work done upon my soul ^ 
Have I been illuminated by the word and spirit of vhe 
Lord, to see the odiousness of sin, the need of a Saviour, 
the love of Christ, and the excellencies of God in glory? 
Is my heart broken or humbled wiihin me for my fhr- 
merlife ? Havel thankfully entertained my Saviour and 
Lord, who offered hirnself M'ith pardon and life to my 



140 A Call to the Uncq^tveeted. 

soul. Do I hate my former sinful life, and the remnant 
of every sin that is in me ? Do I fly fi'oni them as my 
deadly enemies ? Do I give up myself to a life of holi- 
ness "r Do I love it and delight in it ? Can I truly say that 
1 am dead to the world ; and that I live for God, and the 
glory which he has promised ? Has heaven more of my 
estimation than earth? And is God the dearest and 
highest in my soul ? Once, I am sure I lived principal- 
ly to the world and flesh, and God had nothing but some 
heartless services which the world eould spare, and 
\vhich were the leavings of the flesh. Is my heart now 
turned another way ? Have I a new design and a new 
end, and anew train of holy affections ? Have I set my 
hopes and heart on heaven? And is it the design of my 
heart and life to get v.ell to Heaven, and see the glori- 
ous face of God, and live in his everlasting love and 
praise ? Do 1 conquer all gross sins, and am I weary 
and willing to be rid of mine infirmities? This is the 
state of a converted soul. And thus must it be willi 
me or I must perish. Is it thus with me indeed, or is 
k not? It is time to get this doubt resolved before the 
dreadful judge resolve it. I am not such a stranger to 
my own heai tand life, buti may perceive whether I am 
;hus converted or not : if I be not, it will do me no good 
to flatter my soul with false hopes. I am resolved no 
more to deceive myself, but to endeavour to know truly 
whether I am converted; that if I be, I may re- 
joice in it and glorify my gracious Lord, and com- 
fortably go on till I reach the crown: but if I be not, I 
may beg and seek after the grace that will convert me 
and turn without any more delay : for if I And in time 
that I am out of the way, by the help of Christ I may 
turn and be recovered: but if I stay till either my 
heart be forsaken of God in blindness and hardness, or 
till I be caught away by death : it is then too late. There 
is no place for repentance and conversion then ; I 
kijow it must be now or never." 

Sirs, this is my request to you, that you will but take 
your hearts to task and thus examine them, till you see, 
if it may be, whether you are converted or not. It 
un^ioes many thousands that they think they are in the 
way to salvation when they are not j and that they are 



A Call io the Ui^^con ve-kted . 141 

converted when it is no such thing. And then, when 
we call to them daily to turn, they think this concerns 
not them ; for they arc turned already, and hope that they 
shall do well enough in the way that they are in, when 
alas I all this while they live to the world and flesh, and 
are strangers to God and eternal life. And all this, be- 
cause we cannot persuade them to spend a few hours in 
the examiningof theirstates. Are there not many self- 
deceiving wretches that hear ne this day, who never 
bestowed one hour in all tiieir lives to examine their 
souls, and try whether they ever were truly converted 
or not ? O merciful God, who will care for such wretch- 
es that care no more for themsclvc"s? If all that are in a 
state of damnation, did but know it,' they durst not con- 
tinue in it. The greatest hope that the devil has of 
bringing yon to damnation without a rescue, is by keep- 
ing you blindfold, and making you believe that you may 
do well enough in the way that you are in. If you knew 
that you were lost forever, if you should die as you are ; 
durst you ^Rep another night in the state you are in ? 
Durst you live another day in it? Could you laugh or be 
merry in such a state ? What and not know but you may 
be snatched away to hell in an hour ? Sure it would con- 
strain you to forsake your former company and courses, 
and to betake yourselves to the way of holiness. Sure 
it would drive you to cry to God for a new heart, a'nd to 
seek help of those who are fit to council you. There is 
none of you, sure, tfiat cares not for being damned. — 
\Vell then, I beseech you, presently m^kc inquiry into 
your hearts, and give them no rest till you Hnd out your 
concfition; that if it be good, you may rejoice in it and 
go on ; and if it be bad, you may presently look about 
you for recovery as men who belie ve'thcy must turn or 
die. What say you ? Will you resolve and promise to 
be at so much labour for your own souls ? Will you fall 
upon this self-examination ? Is my request unreasona- 
ble ? Your consciences know it is not : resolve on it then 
before you stir; knowing how much it concerns your 
sJouls. I beseech you, for the sake of that God who 
does command you, at whose bar you will shortly all ap- 
pear, that you will not deny this reasonable request.— 
For the sake of those souls that must tw-yt <ir rHc\ I be 



l-i'2 A Call to the Unconverted. 

seech you deny me not ; make it your business to un- 
derstand your own conditions and build upon sure 
ground, and know for a certainty whether you are con- 
verted or no ; and venture not your own souls on nepjli- 
gent security. 

But perhaps you will say, What if we should find 
ourselves yet unconverted, what will we do then ? This 
question leads me to my second doctrine. 

DOCTRINE II. 

It is the Jiromise of God, that the rjickcd shall livc^ ij 
they nvill turn to hiryi. 

THE Lord here professes that this is what he* takes 
pleasure in, that the \\\z\Qd turn and live. Turn and 
live^ is as certain a truth, as turn or die. Sinners, there 
are none of you shall have cause to go home and say I 
preach despair to you. Are we used to shut up the door 
of mercy against you? O that you would not shut it up 
against yourselves? Are we used to tell y^m th,^t God 
"will have no mercy on you though you turn ? When 
did you hear a preacher say such a word? You that 
bark at the preachers of the gospel for desiring to keep 
you out of hell, and say, that they preach despair; tell 
me when did you ever hear any sober man say that there 
is no hope for you, though you repent and be converted? 
No, it is quite the contrary, which we daily proclaim 
from the Lord ; that whoever is born again shall, be sav- 
ed : so far are wc from persuading you to dispair of 
this, that we persuade you not to make any doubt of it. 
It is life, and not death, which is the first part of our 
message to you ; our commission is to offer salvation, 
a speedy, glorious, everlasting salvation to every 
one of you ; to the poorest beggar, as well as the 
greatest lord ; to the worst of you, even drunkards, 
swearers, thieves, yea, to ^le despisers and reproachers 
of the holy way of salvation ; we are commanded by 
the Lord our master, to offer you a pardon for ail that is 
past, if you will now at last return and live.; we are com- 
manded to beseech and entreat you lo accept the offer, 
kind to tell you what preparation is made by Christ, 
'•hat mercy stays for you ; what patience waiteth or 



A call to iJie Unco^; verted. 143 

you ; what thoughts of kmdness God has towards you ; 
and how happy, how certainly and unspeakably happy 
you may be if you will. We have indeed also a mes- 
sage of wrath and death; yea, of a two-fold wrath 
and death : but neither of them is our principal 
message : we must tell you of the wrath that is 
on you already, and the death that you are born un- 
der: but this is only to shew you the need of mercy. 
For who will seek out for physic that knows not he is 
sick ? Our telling you of your misery is not that which 
-makes you miserable, but that which drives you to seek 
for mercy. It is ^ou that have brought this death upon 
yourselves. We tell you also of another death, and 
much greater torment, which will fall on those who 
will not be converted. 

But as this is true ; so it is but the last, and saddest 
part of our message. We are first to offer you mercy 
if you will turn ; and it is only those who will not turn 
nor hear the voice of mercy, to whom we must foretell 
damnation. If you will castaway your transgressions, 
and come at the call of Christ, and be converted, we 
have not a word of damning wrath, or death to speak 
against you. I do here in the name of the Lord of life 
proclaim to you all, to the worst of you, to the greatest, 
to the oldest sinner, that you may have mercy and sal- 
vation, if you will but turn. There is mercy in God, 
there is sufficiency in the satisfaction of Christ, the pro- 
mise is free and full, and \miversal ; you may have life 
if you will but turn. But then, as you love your souls, 
remember what turning it is which the scripture speaks 
of. It is not tamend the old house, but to pull down all 
and build anew, on Christ the Rock and sure foundation. 

Yourselves are witnesses now, that it is salvation and 
not damnation which is the great doctrine I preach to 
you ; and the first part of my message to you. Accept 
of this and we shall go no farther ; for we would not 
trouble you with the name of damnation without ne- 
cessity. 

But if you will not be saved, there is no remedy but 
damnation must take place For there is no middle 
place between the two: you must have either life or 
death. 



144 J Call io the U^co'viaxED. 

And we are not only to offer youlife ; butto shew yoa 
the grounds on which wo do u, and call you to believe 
that God does mean indeed as he speaks : that the 
promise is true, and extends conditionally to you, as well 
as others. ^' 

If you ask, where is our commission for this offer — 
among an hundred texts of scripture> I will shew it to 
you in these few. 

First, you see it here in my text, and in the following 
verses, and in the xviiith of Ezekiel, as plain as can be 
spoken. And in 2 Cor. v. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. you have 
the very sum of our commission : Jf ajiy man be in 
Christ,, he is a ne^ji) creature : old things are fiassed away ; 
behold' all things are become new. jind all things are of 
Godf who both reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christy 
and hath given iis the ministry cf reconciliation; tonvit-, 
that God was, in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; 
not imfmting their tresjiasses to them ; and hath committed 
unto us (he word of reconciliation : now then, we are am- 
bassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech, you by 
usf we pray you in Christs stead, be ye reconciled unto 
God : for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no 
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
him. 

You see that we are commanded to offer life to you all^ 
and to tell you from God, that if youwilUwrn you may live. 

Here you may safely tru^t your souls ; for the love of 
God is the fountain of this offer, John iii. 16. and the 
blood of the Son of God has purchased it: the faithful- 
ness and truth of God are engaged to make the promise 
good: miracles have sealed the truth of it: preachers 
arc sent through the world to proclaim it, the sacraments 
are instituted for the solemn delivery of the mercy of- 
fered, to them that will accept it ; and the spirit opens 
the heart to entertain it, and is itself the earnest of the 
full possession. So that the truth of it is past contro- 
versy, that the worst of you all, and every one of you, 
if you will but be converted, may be saved. 

Indeed, if you believe that you shall be saved without 
conversion, then you believe a falsehood ; and if I should 
preach that to you, I should preach a lie: this were not 
to believe God, but the devil and your own deceitful 



A Call to ike Uncok verted. i 45 

hearts. God has his promise of life, and the devil has 
his promise of life, God's promise is rcturri arid live ; 
the devil's pronnise is you shall live whether you turn or 
not. The words of God are as I have shewed you, ex- 
cejit ye be convert ed-^and become as little children^ ye can- 
7iot enter the kingdom of heaven^ Matt, xviii- 3. Except 
a man be born agai?if he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
God, John iii 3, 5. Without holfncss none shall sec God, 
Heb xii. 14. The Devil's y/ordis you maybe saved 
nvithout being born again, or converted ; you may do noell 
enough nvithout being holy ; God does but frighten, you, he 
is more merciful than to do as he says, he li'ill be better to 
you than his ivord. And alas ! the greatest part of the 
world believe this vi'ord of the devil, before the word of 
God ; just as our first sin and misery came into the 
world. God said to our first parents, Jf ye cat, ye shall 
die. And the devil contradicts him and says, Ye shall 
not die : and the woman believed the devil before God. 
So now the Lord saith, turn or die : and the devil says, 
you shall not die, if you do but cry to God for mercy at 
last. And this is the word which the world believes. O 
heinous wickedness to believe the devil before God ! 

And yet this is not the worst : but blasphemously they 
call this a believing and trusting God, when they put him 
in the shape of Satan, who was a liar from the begin- 
ning ; and when they believe that the word of God is a 
lie, they call this a trusting God, and say they believe in 
him, and trust on him for salvation. Where did ever 
God say, that the unconverted shall be saved ? Shew 
sucli a word in scripture. I challenge you if you can. 
Why this is the rfm/'s word, and to believe it is to be- 
lieve the devil And do you call this believing aiid trust' 
i?ig God? There is enough in the word of God, to com- 
fort and strengthen the hearts of the sanctified ; but not 
a word to strengthen the hands of wickedness, or to give 
men the least hope of being saved, though they be ne- 
ver sanctified. 

But if you will turn, and come in the way of mercy, 

the mercy of the Lord is ready to entertain you. Then 

trust God for salvation, boldly and confidently ; for he 

is engaged by .his word to save you. He will be a father 

N 



146 J Call to the Ukconverted. 

to none but his children, and he will save none but those 
that forsake the world, the devil, and the llesh, and 
come into his fannily, to be members of his Son, and 
iiave communion with his saints. But if they will not 
come in it is their own fault ; his doors are open. He 
keeps none back : he is still ready to receive you if you 
wera but ready unfeignedly, and with all your hearts to 
turu. And the fulness of this truth will yet more ap- 
pear in the two following doctrines. 

DOCTRINE III. 

'Jod takes pleasure in men* 8 conversion and salvatioii ; 
not in their death or damnation : he had rather they 
jL'Ould return and live, than ^o on and die. 

i'OR the /iroo/ of this ix)int, I shall be very brief, be- 
cause I suppose you believe it already. 

1. The gracious Tzaiur^ of God has proclaimed, and 
.requently assUred you of this , that he has no pleasure 
'n your death. 

• 2. If God had more pleasure in thy death than in thy 
•conversion and life, he would not have so frequently 
';ommanded thee in his word, to turn ; he would not 
have made thee such promises of life if thou wilt turn : 
he would not have persuaded thee to it by so many rea- 
.ions. The tenor of his, gos/iel proves the point. 

3. And his commission which he has given to the 
ministers of the gospel, does fully prove it. If God had 
taken more pleasure in thy damnation, than in thy con- 
version and salvation, he would never have charged us 
to offer you mercy, and to teactf you the way of life, both 
publicly and privately ; and to intreat and beseech you 
10 turn and live ; to acquaint you with your sins, and tell 
you of your danger ; and to do all that possibly ^v;e can 
lor your conversion, and to continue patiently so doing, 
ihough you shall hate or abuse us for our pains. Would 
God have done this, if he had taken pleasure in your 
death ? 

4. It is proved also by the course of his providence. 
If God had rather you were damned than saved, he 
would not second'-his word with his works, and entice 



i 



A Call to the Unconverted. 147 

you by 1us daily kindness, and give you all the mercie's 
of this lite, which are means to lead you (o refientance, 
Rom. ii. 4, and bring you so often under his rod, to force 
you into your wits : he would not set so many examples 
before your eyes, no, nor wait on you so patiently as he 
does from day to day, and year to year. These are 
not signs of one that takes pleasure in your death. If 
ihis had been his delight, how easily could he have had 
thee long ago in hell ? How oft before this could he have 
snatched thee away, in the midst of thy sins, with a 
curse, or oath, or lie in thy mquth ? When thou wast 
last in thy drunkenness, or deriding the ways of God : 
how easily could he have stopi^ thy breath, and made thee 
sober in another world ! Alas ! how small a matter is it 
for the Almighty to rule the tongue of the profanest 
railerjand tie the hands of the most malicious persecu- 
tor, or calm the fury ^f the bitterest of his enemies, and 
make|them know that they are but worms? If he did 
but frown u^on thee thou woiiJdst drop into thy grava. 
Ifhe gave commission to oneof his angels to go and de- 
stroy ten thousand sinners, how quickly would it be done. 
How easily can he lay the? upon the bed ofllanguishing, 
and make thee lie roaring there in pain, and eat th.e 
words of reproach which thcu hast spoken against his 
servants, his word, his worship, and his holy ways ? how 
easily can he lay that flesh under groans, and make it 
more loathsome than the dung of the earth ? That flesh 
which must now have what it loves, and must not be 
displeased, though God be displeased ; and must be 
humoured in meat, and drink, and cloaths, whatever 
God say to the contrary, how quickly would the frown 
of God consume it 1 When thou wast passionately de- 
feniling thy sin, and quarrelling with them that would 
have drawn thee from it, and pleading for the works of 
darkness, how easily couldGod h:\ve snatched thee away 
in a moment, and set thee before his dreadful majesty, 
(where thou-shouldst see ten thousand times ten thous- 
and glorious angels waiting on his throne) and have ask- 
e<l thee, What hast thou now to say against thxj Creator^ 
his truths his servants cr his holy ivays? JVow plead thi; 
cause, and make the best of it thou canst. jYow^ v'.haf 
canst thou say in excuse of thy sins ? A^oiv ,q-ive an accoun: 



lis A Call to the Unconverted. 

of thy timey and of all the mercies thou hast had. O ho^r 
thy stubbborn heart would have melted, and thy counte- 
nance have been ajipaled, and thy stout words turned 
iiiio speechless silence, or dreadful cries; if God had 
but set thee thus at liis bar, and pleaded his own cause 
with thee ! How easily can he, at any time, say to thy 
cjuilty soul, Come aivay^and live in that flesh no more till 
the resurrection. And it cannot resist. A word of his 
mouth would take off the poise of thy present life, and 
then all thy parts and powers would stand still. And if 
he were to say to thee, Live no longer, or live in hell j 
thou couldst not disobey. 

But God has done none of this; but has patiently for- 
bornthee, and mercifully upheld thee; and given thee 
that breath which thou didst breathe out against him and 
given thee those mercies which thou didst sacrifice to 
thy tlesh, and afforded thee that provision which thou 
spentest to satisfy thy greedy appetite : he gave thee 
every minute of that time which thou didst waste in 
idleness or drunkenness. And does not all this patience 
and mercy shew that he desires not thy damnation ? Can 
Uie candle burn without the oil ? Can your houses stand 
without the earth to bear them ? as well as you can live 
an hour without the support of God. And why did he 
so long support thy life, but to see when thou wouldst 
bethink thee of the folly of thy ways, and return and 
live? Will any man purposely put arms into his 
enemies' hands to resist him ? Or hold a candle to a 
murderer who is killing his children ? Surely it is to see 
whether thou will at last return and live, that God has 
so long v/aited on thee. 

5. Itis further proved by the sufferings of his Son, that 
God takes no pleftsure in the death of the wicked ; would 
he have ransomed them from death at so dear a rate ? 
Would he iiave astonished angels and men, by his con- 
descension ? Would God have dwelt in the flesh, and 
!:ome in the form of a servant, and have lived a life of 
suffering, and died a cursed death for sinners, if he had 
taken pleasure in their death ? Suppose you saw him 
praying with the drops of blood trickling from him in- 
stead of sweat, or suffering a cursed death upon the 
.:ross, and pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for ouv 



A Call to the U^'CG2>VI:RTED. 149 

sins ; would you have thought these the signs t)f one 
that delights in the death of the wickednryou had seen 
and heard him weeping and bemoaning the state of 
disobedience in impenitent people, or complaining 
of their stubbornness, as Matt, xxiii. 37. O Jerusa- 
Icm^ Jerusalem^ how oft would . / have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gat here th her chick- 
ens under her ivings, and ye would not ? Qi if you 
had seen and heard him on the cross, praying for 
his persecutors, Fat Iter forgive them^ for they know not 
nvJiat they do ; would you have suspected that he had de- 
lighted in the death of the wicked ; even of those that 
perish by their wilful unbelief? When God hath soToved 
(not only loved, but so loved) as to give his only begotten 
son^ that whosoever belicveth in him, should not perish^ 
hut have everlastijig life : he has proved against the mal- 
ice of men and devils, that he takes no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked, but had rather they would Turn 
and Live. 

6. Lastly, If all this will not satisfy you, take his own 
word, who knows best his own min\l, or at least believe 
his oath : But this leads me to the fourth doctrine. 

DOCTRINE IV. 

The Lord hath confirmed to us by his oath that he has no 
fdeasure in the death of the wicked, but had rather that 
he should turn and live : that he ?uay leave 7?ian no 
firetencc to question the truth of it. 

IF you dare question his word, I hope you dare not 
question his oath. As Christ has solemnly protested 
that the unconverted cannot enter into the kingdom of 
heaven : so God has sworn that his pleasure is not in 
their death, but in their conversion and life. And as 
the Apostle says, Heb. vi. 12, 16, 17, 18, 19. Because 
he could sware by no greater, he sware by himself. For 
men verily sware by the greater, and an oath for confrrt,- 
ation, is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God willing 
viore abundantly to shew unto the heirs of fir omise theim- 
mutability of his counsel, corfirmcdit by an oath; that by 
^'^Q imniutable things^ in which it was impossible for 'God 
^2 



ioO A Call to the Unconverted. 

to lie^ Tje might have a strorg consolation^ nvho have Jied 
for refuge to lay hold on the ho/ie set befort us ; which 
hope ive have as an anchor of the soul^ both sure and sted- 
fast. If there be any man who cannot reconcile this 
truth with the damnation of the wicked, that is owing to 
his own ignorance ; he has no pretence left to deny or 
question therefore the truth of the point in hand : for 
this is confirmed by the oath ofGod, and therefore must 
not be distorted to reduce it toother points; but doubt- 
ful points must rather be reduced to it, and certain truths 
must be believed to agree with it, though our shallow 
brains hardly discern the agreement. 

USE. 

1D0 now intreatthee, if thou be an unconverted sin 
ner who hearest tliese words, that ihou woulst be 
ihink thyself awhile, who is it that takes pleasure in thy 
sin and damnation ? Certainly it is not God ; he has 
sworn for his part that he takes no pleasure in it. And 
I know it is not the pleasing of him that you intend in it. 
You dare not say that you drink, arid sware, and neglect 
holy duties, and quench the motions of the spirit to please 
God. That were as if you should reproach the prince, 
and break his laws, and seek his death, and say you did 
all this to please him. 

Who is it then that takes pleasure in your sin and 
Jeath ? Not any that bear the image of God, for they 
must be like minded to him. God knows it is small 
pleasure to your teachers, to see you wilfully run into the 
flames of hell. Alas I to foresee youf everlasting tor- 
ments, and know not how to prevent them, is to see how 
near you are to hell, and we cannot make you believe it 
and consider it. To see how easily, how certainly you 
might escape, if we knew but how to make you willing ! 
How fair you are for everlasting salvation, if you would 
but turn and do your best, and make it the care and busi- 
ness of your lives ! but you will not do it ! Do you think 
that this is a pleasant thing to us ? 

Again, it is none of your godly friends. Alas ! it i^ 
ilie grief of their souls to see your misery, and they la - 
-nent for you i»any a time ^vhen you give them little 



A Call to the Unconverted. 151 

thanks for it, and when you have not hearts to lament 
for yourselves . 

Who is it then that takes pleasure in your sin ? It is 
none but the three great enemies of God, whom you re- 
nounced in your baptism. 

1. The Devil taK.es pleasure in your sin and death : 
for this is the end of all his temptations. You cannot 
please him better than to go on in sin : how glad is he 
when he sees thee go to the ale-house, and when he 
hears thee curse, or swear, or rail ? These are his delight. 

2. The wicked are also delighted in it, for it is a- 
greeable to their nature. 

3. But I kno^y, for all this, that it is not the pleasing 
of the devil that you intend ; but is "your onvn fcsh^ the 
greatest and most dangerous enemy. It is the flesh that 
would be pleased in meat and drink, and cloathing, that 
'.vould be pleased in company, and applause, and credit 
with the world ; and this is the gulph that devours all ; 
this is the very God you serve. For the scfripture says 
of such, That their belly is their God^ Phil. iii. 19. 

But I beseech you stay a little and consider the busi- 
ness. 

Your^^-sA is pleased with your sin : but is your con^ 
science pleased ! Does not it tell you sometimes, that all 
is not well, and that your case is not so safe as you make^ 
it to be ? And should not your soul and conscience be 
pleased before that corrupt flesh ? Again, is not your 
Jiesh preparing for its own disfileasure also ? It loves the 
bait : but does not love the hook ! It loves the strong 
drink and sweet morsels ; it loves its ease, and sports, 
merriment ; it loves to be rich and weH spoken of by 
men and to be somebody in the world : but does it love 
the curse of God ? Does it love to stand trembling before 
his bar, and to be judged to everlasting fire ? Does it 
love to be tormented with devils forever ? Take all to- 
gether; for there is no separating sin and hell. If you 
will keep one you must have the other. If death and 
hell be pleasant to you, no wonder then if you go on in 
sin : but if they be not, then what if sin were ever so 
pleasant, is it worth the loss of life eternal ? Is a little 
drink, or meat, or ease ; is the good word of sinners, or 
*.hc riches of the \yorld to be valued above the joys of 



15^2 A Call io the U:7converted. 

heaven ? Or are they worth the sufferings of eternal nre ? 
These questions should be considered before you go 
any further, by every man that hath reason to considerr 
dAiCi belfeves he has a soul to save or loose. 

Well, the Lord here swears that he has no pleasure in 
your death, but had rather that you would turn and live. 
If yet you will go on, and die rather than turn, re- 
member it was not to please God that you did it ; it was 
to please the world, and to please yourselves. And if 
men will damn themselves to please themselves^ and run 
into endless torments for delight : what remedy but they 
must take what they get by it, and repent it in another 
manner, when it is too late. 



DOCTRINE V. 

JO earnest is God for the conversion of sinners^ that Itc 
doubles his commands and exhortations tvithvehemency ; 
turn y<?, turn ye, why nvill ye die ? 

IS there ever an unconverted sinner that hears these 
vehement words of God ? Is there ever a man or woman 
that is yet a stranger to the renewing, sanctifying work 
of the Holy Ghost ? Hearken then to the voice of your 
Maker, and turn to him by Christ, without delay. Would 
you know the will of God ? why this is his will that you 
presently turn. Shall the living God send so earnest a 
message to his creatures, and should they not. obey ? 
Hearken then, all ye that live after the flesh, the Lord 
that gave thee thy breath, has sent a message to thee 
from heaven ; and this is his message, Turn ye, turn ye, 
ivhy loill ye die ? He that has ears to hear, let him hear. 
Shall the voice of eternal majesty be neglected Mf he do 
but terribly thunder thou art afraid. O but this voice 
does more nearly concern thee. If he did but tell thee, 
thou shalt die to-morrow, thou wouldst not make light 
of it. O but this word concerns thy life or death ever- 
lasting. It is both a command and an exhortation. As 
if he had said to thee, " I charge thee upon the allegiance 
which thou owest me thy Creator and Redeemer, that 
+h.9u renounce the flesh, the3Vorld, and the devUj and 



A Call io the U^'co^; verted. 153 

turn to me that thou mayst live. I condescend to en- 
treat thee, as thou either lovest or fearest him that made 
thee : as thou lovest thine own life, even thine ever- 
lasting life, turn and live : as ever thou wouldst escape 
eternal misery, turn, turn, for why wilt thou die ? And is 
there a heart in man, in a reasonable creature, that can 
refuse such a message, such a command, such an exhor- 
tation as this ! O what a thing then is the heart of 
maal 

Hearken then, all that love yourselves, all that regard 
your own salvation ; here is the joy fullest message that 
ever was senf to the ears of man, 7 urn t/e, turn ycy ivhy 
"ivill ye die ? You are not yet shut up under desperation. 
Here is mercy offered you : Turn, and you shall have 
it. With what joyful hearts would you receive these 
tidings ! I know this is not the first time that you have 
heard them : but how have you regarded them, or how 
do you regard them now ? Hear, all you ignorant, care- 
less sinners, the word of the Lord ! Hear all ye gluttons, 
drunkards, whoremongers and swearers, railers, and 
backbiters, slanderers and liars : Turn ye, turn ye, luhy 
ivill ye die ? 

Hear all ye cold, and outside professors, all that are 
strangers to the life of Christ, and never knew the 
power of his resurrection, never felt your hearts warmed 
with his love : Turn ye, turn ye, ivhy nvill ye die? 

Hear, all that are void of God, whose hearts are not 
toward him, nor taken up with the hopes of glory, but 
set more on earthly prosperity and delights, than on 
the joys of heaven ? all you that are religious but by the 
by, and give God no more than your flesh can spare ? that 
have not denied yourselves and forsaken all that you 
have for Christ? but have one thing in the world so 
dear that you cannot spare it for them, but will rather 
venture on his displeasure than forsake it. Turn ye, turn 
yc. Tj/iy will ye die. 

If you never heard it, or observed it before, remem- 
ber that you were told from the word of God, this da)-, 
that if you will but turn you may live ; and if you will 
not turn you shall surely die. 

What now will you do ? What is your resolution ? 
Will you turn,or will you not ? Halt no longer between 



1 54 A Call to the Unconverted. 

two opinions: if the Lorrl be God, follow him : if your 
flesh be God, then serve it still. If heaven be better 
than earth, come away and seek a better country, and 
lay up your treasure where moths nor rust do not cor- 
rupt, or thieves break through and steal? and with all 
your might, seek the kingdom that cannot be moved : 
employ your minds on a higher design, and turn the 
stream of your care and labours another way than for- 
merly you have done. But if earth be better than hea- 
ven, then keep it and follow it still. Are you resolved 
what to do ? If you be not, I will set a few more consid- 
erations before you. 

Consider, first, ivhat fir e/iaratio7is mercy has made for 
your salvation : and what pity it is, that man should be 
damned after all this. God has made to thee a free act 
of oblivion, and a free deed of gift of Christ and life, 
and offers it to thee, and entreats thee to accept it, and 
it may be thine if thou wilt. For, he was in Ghrists re- 
conciling the ivorld unto himself and hath committed unto 
us the word of reconciliation. Sinners, weare command- 
ed to deliver this message to you all, as from the Lord, 
Come, for all things are wow reac/i/, Luke xiv. 17. Are 
all things ready ? and are you unready ? God is ready to 
pardon all that you have done against him, if you will 
but come. As long as you have sinned) he is ready to 
cast all behind his back if you will but come. Though 
you have been pr6digals, and run away from God, and 
have staid so long, he is ready to meet you, and embrace 
you in his arms, if you will but turn. Even the swinish 
drunkards may find God ready to bid them welcome, if 
they will but come. Does not this turn thy heart with- 
in thee ? Q sinner, if thou have an heartof flesh, and not 
of stone, methinks this shall melt it. Shall the dread- 
ful infinite majesty' of heaven wait for thy returning, 
and be ready to receive thee, who hast abused him, and 
forgotten him sd long ? Shall he delight in thy conver- 
sion, who might, at any time glorify his justice in thy 
damnation, and yet does it not melt thy heart within 
thee, and art thou not ready to come in ? Hast thou not 
as much reason to be ready to come, asGod has to invite 
thee and bid thee welcome ? 

Christ has done his part on the Cros9^ and made sutil 



A Call to the Ukconverteb. 155 

way for thee to the Father, that on his account thou nlay- 
est be welcome if thou wilt come, and yet art thou not 
ready ? 

A fiardon is already expressly granted, and offered 
thee in the gospel . And yet art thou not ready ? 

The Ministers of the Gospel are ready to assist thee, 
to instruct thee, and pronounce peace to thy soul ; they 
are ready to pray for thee, and to seal thy pardon by the 
administration of the holy sacrament, and yet art thou 
not ready ? 

Yea, Heaven itself is ready : The Lord will receive 
thee in the glory of his saints, as vile a beast as thou 
hast been, if thou will but be cleansed ; thou may st have 
a place before his throne ; his arfgels will be ready to 
guard thy soul to the place of joy, if thou do but un- 
feignedly come in. And is God ready, the sacrijice of 
Christ ready ya7id pardon ready? Arc Ministers ready y 
and heaven itself ready ^ and Angels ready, and alj these 
wailing for thy conversion, and yet art thou not rea- 
dy ? What, not ready to live, 'ivhen thou hast been 
dead so long ? Not ready to come to thy right understand' 
ing when thou hast been besides thyself so long ? Art 
thou not ready to lay hold o;z Christ who would deliver 
thee, when thou art even ready to drown and ^ sink into 
damnation ? Art thou not ready to be saved from hell 
when thou art ready to be cast into it ? Alas, man, dost 
thou know what thou doest? If you die unconverted 
there is no doubt to be made of thy damnation, and thou 
art not sure to live an hour : andi/cr thou art not ready 
to turn and come in ? O miserable wretch ! hast tliou 
not served the devil and the ilesh long enough ? Hast 
thou not yet enough of sin ? Is it so good to thee, or so 
profitable for thee? Dost thou know what it is, that 
thou wouldst have more of it ? hast thou had so many 
calls, and so many mercies, and so many bloivs^ and so 
many examples : hast thou seen so many laid in their 
grave, and yet art thou not ready to let go thy sins, and 
come to Christ ? What, after so many convictions, and 
gripes cf consience, after so many purposes, and pt'omi'^ 
ses, art thou notyetready to turn and live ? Oh that thy 
eyes, thy heart were opened to know how fair an offer 
is now m^de to thee 1 and what a joyful message it is 



i56 A Call to the Uxcon vested. 

that we arc sent on, to bid thee come for all things ai-e 
ready. - 

2. Consider also what calls thou hast to turn and live, 
how many, how loud, how earnest, how dreadful, and yet 
what encouraging, joyful calls I 

For the principal inviter, it is God himself. He that 
commands heaven and earth, commands thee to turn, 
and noTo ivithout delay, to turn : he commands the sun to 
run its course, and to rise upon thee every morning ; and 
though it is so glorious a creature, yet it obeys him, 
and fails not one miaute of its appointed time. He 
commands all the plannets, and all the orbs of heaven, 
and they obey ; he commands the sea to ebb, and flow, 
and the whole creation to keep its course, and all obey 
him : the angels of heaven obey his will, when he sends 
ihem to minister to such silly worms as we on earth. — 
And yet if he commands but a sinner to turn, he will 
not obey him : he only thinks himself wiser than God, 
and he cavils, and will not obey. 

If thou hadst any love in thee, thouwouldst know the 
voice,'and say, O this is my father* s call : how can I find in 
my heart to disobey ? If thou hadst any sense in thee, at 
least thou wouldst say, This call is the dreadful voice of 
God, and ivho dare disobey ? God is not a man that thou 
shouldst trifle and play with him : wilt thou yet go on 
and despise his word, and resist his spirit, and stop thine 
ear against his call? Who is it that will have the worst 
of this ? Dost thou knvw whom thou disobeyest and 
contendest with, and what thou art doing ? It were a far 
wiser and easier taskfor thee to contend with the thorns, 
and spurn them with thy bare feet, and beat them with 
thy bare hands, or put thy head into the burning fire. 
Be not deceived^ God will not be mocked. Whoever else 
be mocked, God will not : you had better play with the 
fire in your thatch, than with the fire of his burning 
wrath. For our God is a consuming fire, Heb. xii. 29. 
O how unmeet a match art thou for God I It is a fearful 
thing to fall into his hands, Heb. x. 31. And therefore 
it isa fearful thing to contend with him, or to resisthim. 
As you love ycur own soul, take heed what you do.— 
What will you say, if he begin in wrath to plead with 
you I What will you do, if he take you once in hand ? 



A Call to the Uncoil vehted. 157 

you once in hand ? Will you then strive against hb 
judgment, as now ye do against his grace ? ".Who 
would set the briars and thorns against me in battle ? 
I would go through them ; I would burn them together. 
Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may 
make peace with me, and he shall make peace with 
me.'* It is an unequal combat for the briars and stub= 
ble to make war with the fire. 

You see, Who it is that calla you. Consider also, by 
lohat instruments^ and Iioiu often and hoiv earnestly he 
does it. 

1. Every leaf of the blessed book of God has as it 
were a voice, and calls out, Turn and live ; turn or thou 
ivilt die. How canst thou open it, or read a leaf, or 
hear a chapter, and not perceive God bids thee Turn .? 

2. The voice of many a motion of the Sjiirit secretly 
urges thee to Turn. 

3. The voice'of Conscie7ice. Art thou not some- 
times convinced that all is not well with thee ? and does 
not thy conscience tell thee that thou must be a. new- 
man, and take a new course. 

4. The voice of all the ivorks of God. For they 
also are God's books, that teach thee this lessGrn, by 
shewing thee his greatness, and wisdom, and gcrbdness, 
and calling thee to observe them, and admirc-flie Crea- 
tor. Psalm xix. J. 2. The heavens declare the glory of 
God, and the firmament sheweth his handy ivork. Day 
unto day uttereth sfieech, a7id night unto night shenveth 
knowledge. Every time the sun rises upon thee, it calls 
thee to Turji, as if it should say, " What do I ti-avel and 
compass the world for, but to declare to men the glory 
of their Maker, and to light them to do his work ? and do 
I still find thee doing the work of sin, and sleeping out 
thy life in negligence ? Awake thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." 

5. The voice of every mercy thou dost possess. If 
thou couldst but hear and understand them, they all cry 
unto thee Turn : Why does the earth bear thee, but to 
seek and serve the Lord? Why does it afford thee its 
fruit but to serve him ? Why do all the creatures serve 
thee with their labours, and their lives, but that thou 

O 



158 A Call to //i^ Unconverted. 

mightest serve the Lord of them and thee? Why does 
he i^ive thee time, heitlih and strength, but to serve 
hhn ? Why h:vst thou meat, and drink, and cloaths, but 
for his service ! Hast thou any thing whicli thou hast 
3)ot received? And if thou did receive them, it is reason 
thou shouldst bethink thce.yr&w whom, and to what e7id 
und use thou didst receive them. Didst thou never cry 
10 him for help in thy distress? And didst thou not then 
\jnder5lanu that it was thy part to turn and serve him, 
^[ lie would deliver thee? lie has done his part, and 
r.pared thee yet longer, and tried thee another, and an- 
'-thevyear, and yet dost thou not turn. How many years 
TiasGod looked for the fruits of love and holiness from thee, 
and has found none? and yet he has spared thee. How 
;tnany a time, by thy wilful ignorance, and carelessness, 
a!id disobedience, hast thou provoked justice to say, Cut 
iJni do-d-Uj "cv/iy cumbereth he the ground? And.yet mer- 
ry has prevailed, and patience has foiijorn the killing, 
'..imningi>low to this day. If thou hadsttheunderstand- 
■ i^.g of a man within thee, thou must know that all this 
alls thee ioturn. 
6. Moreover, the -voice oi t\ try affile ti on calls thee to 
"Kake ha&te and Turn. Sickness and pain cry Turn ; 
and poverty, and loss of fiiends, and every chastening 
rod cry Turn ; and yet wilt thou not hearken to the 
oall. 

7.. Yea, thine own engagements, by promise to the 
. Lord, call upon thee to turn and serve him. Thou hast 
bound tJiyself to him by a baptismal covenant, to re- 
nounce the world, the flesh, and the devil : This thou 
iiast confirmed by the profession of Christianity, and 
renewed it at sacraments, or in time of afiUction ; and 
wilt thou promise and vow, and never perform and turn 
to God ? 

Lay all these together now. The holy scrifnure calls 
upon thee to Turn: the Spirit cries Turn: thy conscience 
cries Turn : The whole world, arid allthe creatures there- 
in, cry Turn : the y^'\\\zXi\.forbearance of Godcries Turn : 
i)il the mercies thou receivest cry Turn : the rod of God's 
chastisement cnz^TxiYW. and so do all \\iy firoviises io 
God; and yet art thou not resolved to turn? 
"Moreover, poor hard-hearted sinner I didst thou 



A Call iathe U^'co^'VE^.TED. 159 

ever consider nfion tvhat terms thou standcst all this while 
with him nvho calls on thee to Turn: ihou art his o^yr?, 
and owest him thyself, and all ihou hast ; and may he not 
command his own f Thou art his absolute servant, and 
shouldst serve no other master. Thou standest at his 
mercy, and thy life is in his hand : ar.d he is resolved to 
save thee upon no other terms : Thou hast -many trsali- 
cious, spiritual enemies, who would be i^lad if God would 
but forsake thee, and let them alone wiih ihee, and leave 
thee to their will; how quickly would they deal with thee 
in another manner ? And thou canst not be delivered 
from them, but by turning unto God. Thou art fallen 
under his wrath by thy sin already : and thou knowcst 
not how long his patience will yet wait. Perhi'.ps this 
is the last year ; perhaps the last &.\y : his sword isevcn 
at thy heart, while the word is in thine ear ; and if thou 
turn not thou art a dead man. Were thy eyes but open 
to see w here thou standest, even upon the brink of hell, 
and to see how many thousands are there already, thou 
wouldst see that it is time to look about thee. 

O what glad tidings would it be to those that are now 
in hell, if they had but such a message from God ' 
What a joyful word would it be to hear this, 7ur7i and 
live : yea, what a welcome word would it be to thyself, 
ifthouhadst felt that wrath of God but an hour! Or, if 
after a thousand years torment, thou couldst but hear 
such a word from God (Turn and live. J And yet wilt 
thou now neglect it, and suffer us to return without our 
errand ? 

Behold, sinners, we are sent here as the messengers 
of the Lord, to set before you life nnd death : what say 
you ? which of them will you choose ? Chri«>t stands as 
it"] were by ihee, with heaven in one hand, and hell in 
the other, and offers thee thy choice; which wilt then 
choose * The voice of theLord maketh the rocks to tremble. 
But itis nothing to hear him threaten thee, if thou v^ilt 
not turn. Dost thou not understr-nd and feel this«»oice, 
Turn ye^ turn yey why will ye die ? Why, it is the voice 
of Love, of injinite Love., of thy best and kindeVt friend ; 
and yet canst 4hou neglect it ? It is the voice of pity and 
compassion. TheLord sees whither thou art going, 
, better than thou dost, which makes' him cj'.ll after jjiu^'. 



160 A Call to the Unconverted. 

Turn^ turn: he sees what will become of thee, if thou 
turn npt ; he thhiks with himself, " Ah, this poor sin- 
ner will cast himself into endless tormeifts if he do not 
turn: I must in justice deal with him according to my 
righteous law ;" and therefore he calls after thee, TurTr^ 
turuy O sinner! If you did but know the thousandth part 
as well as God does, of the danger that is near you, and 
the misery you are running into, we should have no more 
need to 'call nfier you to Turn. 

Well, are you yet resolved, or are you not ? Do I 
need to say any more to you ? What will you do ? Will 
you turn or not ? Speak man, in thy heart to God : 
speak, lest he take thy silence for denial. Speak quickly^ 
lest he never make thee the like offer more. Speak re- 
fiolvedly^ and not waveringly ; for he will have no indif- 
ferentsXo be his followers. Say in thy heart now with- 
out any more delay, even before thou stir hence, " By 
the grace of God I am resolved, presently to turn. And 
because I know mine own insufficiency, I am resolved 
to wait on God for his grace, and to follow him in his 
Trays,, and forsake my former companions, and give up 
TTjyself to th€ guidance of the Lord. 



DOCTRINE VI. - 

The Lord condescends to reason the case with unconvert^ 
cd sinnersi and to ask them why they will die ? 

A strange disputation it is, both as to the controversy, 

and as to the disputants. 

1 . The controversy or question propounded. Why 
ivicked men will damn themselves? Or, Why they will 
^athcr die^ than turyi ? Whether they have any sufficient 
reason for so doing ? 

2. The disputants are God and man : the most holy 
'rod, and wicked unconverted sinners. 

Is it not a strange thing, that any man should be wil- 
■■ng to diey and be damned ? Yea, that this should be the 
case, of the greatest part of the world ? But you will say, 
This cannot bcy for nature desires the preserimtion of 
itself 



V 



A Call to the Unconverted. l6i 

T answer, 1. It is a certain truth that ro man cau 
will any evil, as evil, but only as it has soine appearance 
of good. Misery, as such, is desired by none. 2. But 
yet it is most true, that the cause why the wicked die, and 
are damned, is because they nvili die and be damned. And 
this is true in several respects. 

1. They will go the way that leads to hell ; though 
they are told by God and man, whither it leads ; and 
though Gcd has so often professed in his word, that if 
they hold on in that way, they shall be condemned ; and 
that they shall not be saved unless they turn. ^ They 
have the word and the oath of the living God for it, that 
if they will not turn, they sliall not enter into his rest. 
And yet wicked they arc, and wicked they will be, let 
God and man say ^\hat they will. So that c'.nsequcli'* 
tlally these men are willing to be damned, though not 
directly : theychuse the way to hell and love the certain 
causeof their torments: though ihey do not will hell 
itself, and do not love the pain which they must endure. 

Is not tills the truth of yoiir case? You woidd not 
burn in hell, but you will cast yourselves into it. Yo\i 
■would not be tormented with devils forever, but you will 
do that which will certainly procure it. It is iis if yo\i 
<rould say, '' I will drink this ratsbane y but I will not 
die. I will cast myself headlong from tlie top of a stee- 
ple, but yet I will not kill myself ^ I will thrust this 
knife into my heart, but I will not f-ike away my life." 
Just so it is with wicked men ; they will be wicked, and 
yet they would not be damned. But do you not know 
that God has by his righteous law concluded that yen- 
must repent or perish ? He that will take poison, may 
as well say plainly, I ivill kill myself; for it will prove 
no better in the end ; though perhaps he loved it for the 
sweetness of the sug.\r that was mixt with it and would 
not be persuaded that it was poison; but is not his con- 
ceit and confrdence that will suve his life. So if you 
will be drunkards, or fornicators, or worldlings, or live 
after'thc flesh, you may as well say plainly, IVe icill be 
darnned : for so you shall be unless you turn. Would you 
not rebuke the folly of a thief, or murderer, that would 
say, I iinll $tcal or kilL but I nviil 72ot be hanged^ when. he. 
O 2 



I(>i2 A Call to tJie Unconverted. 

knovvs^thcitit" hq do the one, the judge will see that the 
other be done 1 U he sav, " I will steal and murder," he 
may as well say plainly, " I will be hanged ," and if you 
will go on in a carnal life, you m^y as well plainly say 
" we will go to hell." 

2. Moreover, The ivickcd ivill not use those mcansy 
luithout ivhich there is no hope of their salvation. He 
that will not eat, may as well say plainly he will not live, 

^3nless lie can tell how to live without meat. He' that 
will not go his journey, may as well say plainly he will 
not come to the end of it. Pie that falls into the water 
and will not come out, or suffer another to help him out, 
may as well say plainly he will be drowned. So if you 
be ungodly, and will not be converted, or use the means 
^ by which you should be converted, you may as well say 
plainly you will bedrimned. For if you have found out 
a way to be saved without conversion, you have done 
that which v/as never done before. 

So that you may see on what ground it is that God 
supposes that the wicked will their own destruction : 
chey will not turn, though they must turn or die ; they 
will rather venture on certain misery than be converted ; 
and then to quit themselves in their sins, they make 
themselves believe that they shall nevertheless escape. 

3. And as this controversy ismatter of wonder, so are 
the disfiutants too. That God should stoop so low, as 
thus to plead the case with man ; and that men should 
be so strangely blind, and obstinate, as to need all this 
in so plain a case, yea, and to resist all this, when their 
pwn salvation lies upon the issue. 

No w-ondcr if they will not hear ws, who are men, 
when they will not hear the Lord himself : as God says, 
Ezek. iii. 7. when he sent the prophet to|the Israelites, 
The hoti.se c/ Israel ivill not hearken unto thee; for they 
will not hearken unto me ;for all the house of Israel are im- 
fiudent and hard-hearted. But Woe unto //^^(saith the 
Lord) that striveth with his Maker ! Let the potsherd 
strive with the potsherds of the earth; shall the clay say 
'*? hi?n that farjdoneth z'j What 7nakc.3t thou ? Ir.r.. ^•h^ 9. 



A Call to the U^'co^n^ERTED. 163 

USE. 

WHx\T sayest thou, unconverted wretch ? Darest 
thou venture upon a dispute -vvuh God ? An 
thou able to confute him ? Art thou ready to enter 
the lists ? God asks thee, Why wilt thou die ? Art thou 
furnished with a sufficient answer ? Wilt thou under- 
take to prove that God is mistaken ? O what an under- 
taking islhat ? Why, either he or you is mistaken, when 
he is for your conversion, and you are against it ; he 
calls upon you to turn, and you will n©t ; he bids you 
do it presently, even to-day, while it is called to-day, and 
you delay, and think it time enough hereafter. He says 
it must be a total change,and you must be holy, and new 
creatures ; and you think it is enough to patch up the 
Did mati, without becoming new. Who is in the right 
Vay now ? God or you? God calls on you to turn, and 
to live a holy life, and you will not ; by your disobedient 
lives, it appears you will not. If- you will, why do you 
not ? Why have you not done it all this while ? And 
why do yen not fall upon it yet? Your wills have the 
command of your lives. We may certainly conclude 
that you are unwilling to turn, v.'hen you do not turn.— . 
Andivhy ivill you not ? Can you give any reason for it, 
that is worthy to be called a reason ? 

It can be no good reason v/hich is against the God of 
truth. That cannot be light which is contrary to the 
sun. There is r;o knowledge in awy creature, but what 
it had from God ; and therefore none can be wiser than 
God. It were damnable presumption for tjie highest 
angel to compare with his Creator : what is it then for 
a lump of dirt, an ignorant sot, that knows not himself 
nor his own soul, that knows but little of the things 
which he sees, to set himself against the wisdom of ihe 
Lord? It isoneofthe fullest discoveries of the horrible 
wickedness, and the stark- madness of sinners, that so 
silly a mole dare contradict his Maker, and call in ques- 
tion the word of God. 

And as I know that God must needs be in the right, so 
I know the case is so palpable which he pleads against, 
that no man can have reason for it. Is it possible that 
a man can have any reason to break .his Maker*s law? 



164 J Call io the Unconverted. 

Reason to diiihonor the Lord of glory? Reason to a- 
buse the Lord that bought him ? Is it possible that a 
man can have any good reason to damnhisown immortal 
soul ? Mark the Lord's question, Turn ye, turnye^ ivhy 
rolU ye die ? Is eternal death a thing to be desired ? Arc 
you in love with hell ? What reason have you wilfully to 
perish ? If you think you have some reason to sm, should 
you not remember that Death is the wages of sin ? And 
think whether you have any reason to undo yourselves 
body and soul forever. You should not only ask whether 
you love the adder, but whether you love the siing ? It 
is such a thing for a man to cast away his everlasting 
happiness, that no gxDod reason can be given for it : but 
the more any one pleads for it the madder he shews 
hifmself to be. Had you a lordship, or a kingdoih offer- 
ed you for every sin you commit, it were not reason but 
madness to accept it. Could you by every^ sin obtam 
the highest thing on earth ihat flesh desires. itwere of no 
considerable value to pussuade you to commit it. If it 
were to please your greatest or dearest friends, or to 
obey the greatest prince on earth, or to save your lives, 
or to escape the greatest earthly misery ; all these are 
of no consideration, to draw a man to the committing of 
one sin. Ifitwerea right hand, or a right eye that 
would hinder your salvation, it is the gainfullcst way to 
cut it off or pluck it out. For»there is no saving a part, 
wHen you lose the whole. So exceeding great are the 
matters of eternity, that nothing in this world deserves 
to be named in comparison with them : nor can any 
earthly thing, though it were life, or crowns, or 
kingdoms ; be a reasonable excuse for the neglect 
of matters of everlasting consequence. Heaven is 
such a thing, that if you lose it, nothing can sup- 
ply the want, or make vv} your loss ; and hell is such 
a thing, that if you suffer it, nothing can remove your 
misery, or give you ease and comfort. And therefore 
lAothing can be a valuable consideration to excuse you 
for neglecting your own salvation : What shallit firojit a 
>nan to gain the ivhole ivorldy and lose his own. soul ? 

O that you did but know what matters they are which 
Vite are now speaking of! There is never a soul in hel? 
butknows) by this time, that it was a mad ©xchangei to 



A Call ig the Uncok vehted. 1 65 

let go heaven for fleshly pleasure, and that it is not a 
little mirth or pleasure, or worldly riches, or honour, 
that will make him a gainer that loses his soul. 

If you see a man put his hand into the fire till it burn 
off, you will marvel at it ; but this is a thing which a 
man may have reason for;, as Bishop Cra7i?ner had, 
when he burnt off his hand for subscribing to Popery. 
If you see a man cut off a leg, or an arm, it is a sad 
sight ; but this is a thing that a man may have good rea- 
son for : as many a man does to save his life. If you 
see a man give his body to be burnt to ashes, and refuse 
deliverance when it is offered : this is a hard case to flesh 
and blood : but this a man may have good reason for, 
as many hundred martyrs have done. But for a 
man to run into the fire of hell : this is a thing which 
can have no reason in the world to justify it. For hea- 
ven will pay for the loss of any thing we can lose to get 
it, or for any labour which we bestow for it. But nothing 
can pay for the loss of heaven. 

I beseech you naw let this word come nearer to your 
hearts. As you are convinced that you have no reason 
to destroy yourselves, tell me what reason you have to 
refuse to turn, and live to God ? What reason has the 
most ignorant, careless sinner of you all, why he should 
not be as careful for his soul as any other? Will not hell 
be as hot to you ixsio others ? Should not your ow7i souls 
be SiS dear to you, as theirs to them? Has not God as much 
authority over you ? Why then will you not become a 
sanctified people as well as they ? 

And now either you have reason for what you do, or 
"^owhavenot. If not ; will you goon against reason it- 
self? But if you think you have, reason the case a little 
with me, your fellow creature, which is far easier than 
to reason the case v/ith God, Tell me, man, here be- 
fore the Lord, as if thou wert to die this hour, why 
shouldst thou not resolve to turn this day, before thou 
stir from the place thou standest in ? What reason hast 
thou to deny, or to delay ? Hast thou any reason that sat- 
isfies thine oidu conscience for it ? Or any that thou dar- 
est plead at the bar of God ? If thou hast, let us hear 
th.elti bring them forth. But alas,what nonsense, instead 
of reasons, do wc 4aily hear from ungodly men -^ 



1 66 A Call io the Unconverted. 

1. One says, If none a hall be savedy but such sancfijiea 
ones as you talk of hea~jen ivill be but empty : God help a 
^rcat manrj. 

What ! It seems you think that God does not know, 
or else that he is not to he believed ! Measure net all 
by yourselves : God has thousands and millions of ..his 
sanctifi^id ones : but yet they are few in comparison or 
the world. It better becomes you to make that Ubc vi 
this truth which Christ teaches you : " strive to enter in 
at the strait gate, for strait is the^gatc, and narrow is the 
way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it ; 
but wid3 is the gate, and broad is the way that Ic&dcth to 
destruction, and many there be that go in thereat.^ 

Object. 2. lam sure if such, as I §o to hell, ive shall 
have store of company. 

Ans. And will that be any ease or comfort to you ? 
Or do you think you may not have company enough in 
heaven ? Will you be undone for company ? or will you 
not believe that God will execute his ihreatenings, be* 
cause there are so many that are guilty ? 

Object. 3. But lam no whoremonger^ nor drunkard^nor 
oppressor ; and therefore ivhy should you call upoii me to 
be con-verted ? 

Ans. As if you were not born after thefesh^'&ml had 
not lived after the flesh as well as othei-s ! Is it not as 
great a sin as any of these, for a man to have an earthly 
mind, and to lave the world above God, and to have an 
unbelieving, unhumbled heart ? Nay, let me tell you 
more, many persons wh6 avoid disgraceful sins, are as 
fast glued to the world, and as much slaves to ihe flesh, 
and as great strangers to God, and averse to heaven, as 
others are in their more shameful notorious sins. 

Object. 4. BjU T mean no bcdy any harm, nor do any 
harm ; and ivhy then should God condemn me ? 

Ans. Is it no harm to neglect the Lord that made 
thee and the work for which thou camest into the world, 
and to prefer the creatui'e before the CreaJ,or, and to 
neglect grace which is daily offered thee ? It is the depth' 
of thy sinfilness to be bo insensible of it: the dead feel 
not that they are dead. If once thou wert alive, thou 
v^ouldst see enough amiss in thyself, and marvel at thy 
silt for making; so light of it. 



A Call to ///^ UNCOi^vEKTEj). 16; 

Object. 5. I thhik you would itialce intn 7nad, under /ire- 



?}i 



tcnce of converting the 

jins. 1. Can you be madder than you are already ? 
Or at least, can there be a more dangerous madness 
than to neglect your everlastmg welfare, and wilfully 
undo yourselves ? 

A man is never well in his wits till he be converted j 
he never knows God, nor knows sin, nor knows Christ, 
nor knows the world, nor himself, nor what his business 
is on earth so as to set himself about it. Is it a wise 
world, when men will run into hell, for fear of being 
outof their wits ? 

2. What is tliere in the work which Christ calls you 
to, that should drive a man out of his senses ? Is it the 
loving God, and calling upon him, and thinking of the 
glory to come, and the forsaking your sins, and loving 
one another, and delighting ourselves in the service of 
God ? Are these such things as make men nu;d ? 

3. And whereas you say that these matters are too 
high for us. Are the matters which we arc juadc for 
and which we live for ^ too high for us to meddle wilh i 
This is plainly to un-man us., and to make beasts of us, 
as if we were like them that must meddle with no higher 
matters >than what belong tgilgsh and earth. If heaven 
1)6 too high for you to think on, it will be too high for 
you ever to possess. 

4. If God should sometimes sufl'er any weak headed 
persons to be distracted by eternal things : this is be- 
caue they mssunderstand them, and run without a 
guide. But of the two, I had rather be in the case of 
huch a one, than in that of the mad, unconverted world, 
who take their distraction to be their wisdom. 

Object. 6. / do not see that it goes any better li'ith those 
ivho arc so godly^ than ivith other men. They arc asfioor^ 
and in as much trouble as others. 

Ans. And perhaps' in much more, v. hen God sees it 
meet. They take not earthly prosperity for their wa- 
ges. They have laid up Uieir treasm-e in another world, 
or else they are not christians. The less they havc^ 
the more is behind j and they are content to wait till 
then. 

Object. 7. When yow have said ell that you can, I air. 



^ 



168 A Call to ^/z^ Unconverted 

resolved to hojie ivell, and trust in Godj and do aa iveila 
I can^a7idnot make so much ado. 

Ans, 1. Is i\\^t doing as ".veil as you cant when you 
will not turn to God, but your heart is against his holy 
service ? It is us well as you luill indeed : but that is your 
misery. 

3. My desire is that you should hope in God : but for 
what is it that you will hope ? Is it to be saved, if you 
turn and be sanctified ? For this you have God's pro- 
mise ; and therefore hope for it, and spare not. But if 
you hope to be saved without conversion, this is not to 
hope in God, but in Satan. For God has given you no 
such promise, but told you the contrary : But it is Satan 
that made you such promises, and raised you to such 
hopes. 

What say you, unconverted sinners ? Have you any 
[jood reason to give, why you should not turn, and pre- 
sently turn with all your hearts ? Or will you go to hell 
in despite of reason itself ? Consider what you do in 
lime, for it will shortly be too late to consider. Can 
you find any fault with God, or his work, or wages ? Is 
he a bad master ? Is the Devil, whom you serve, a bet- 
ter ? Is there any harm in a holy life ? Is a life of un- 
godliness better ? Do you think in your conscience, that 
it would do you any harm to be converted, and live a 
iioly life ? What harm can it do you ? Is it harm to you 
to have the Spirit of Christ within you? And to have a 
purified heart ? Is it evil to be like God ? Is it not said 
that Gdd made 7nan in his image 9 Why this holiness ia 
/lis image : this Adam lost, and this Christ, by his word 
and Spirit would restore to you, as he 'does to all that 
will be saved. Tell me truly, as before the Lord ; though 
vou are loth to live a holy life, had you not rather die 
in the case of those that do so, than of others ? If you 
were to die this day, had you not rather die in the case 
of a converted man, than of the unconverted ? Of a ho- 
ly, heavenly man, than of a carnal and earthly man ? And 
would you not say as Balaam^ Numb, xxiii. 10. Let me 
die the death of the right eous^ and let my last end be like 
his ? And why will you not now be of the mind which 
you will be of thea? First or last you must come to this? 



A Call to the U^s converted. i69 

either to be converted, or to wish you had been, when it 
is too late. 

But what is it that you are afraid of losing, if you 
Turn? l^'Wyowv friends? You will hwi chans^e \\\tm : 
God will be your Friend^ and Christ and the ^fiirit will 
be your Friend^ and every Chf istian will be yo\ir Friend. 
You will get one frinid that will stand you in more 
stead than all the friends in the world would have done. 
The friends you lose^ would but have eniiced you to 
hell, but could not have delivered you ; but the friend 
you 5^^ will save you from hell, and bring you to eter- 
nal rest. 

Is it youv /ileasure thatyou are afraid of losing ? You 
ihinkyou shall never have a merry day again if once you 
be converted. Alasl that you should think it a greater 
pleasure to live in foolish sports and merriments, than 
live in the love of God, and in righteousness, and peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost. If it be a greater pleasure 
to you to think of your lands and inheritance, (If you 
were lord of all the country) than it is for a child to play 
for pins : why should it not be a greater joy to think of 
the kingdom of heaven being yours, than of all the rich- 
es or pleasures of the world ? I have had myself, but a 
little taste of the heavenly pleasures in the forethoughts 
of the blessed day, and in the present persuasion of the 
love of God in Christ ; but I htive taken too deep a 
draught of earthly pleasures ; and yet I must profess 
from that little experience, that there is no comparison : 
there is more joy to* be had in a day, (if the Sun of life 
shine clear upon us) in the state of holiness, than in a 
whole life of sinful pleasures. It is but your unsanctiii- 
ed nature that makes a holy life seem grievous to you. 
If you will but turn, the holy Ghost will give you anoth- 
er nature^ and then it will be more pleasant to you to be 
rid of your sin, than now it is to keep, it ; and you will 
then say, that you knew not What a comfortable life was 
till now, and that it was never well with you till God and 
holiness were your delight. 
P 



: /o A Callto tne Unconvertep^. 
DOC : RINE VIL 

If after all tkis^ vien unllnot Turn^ ids not the fault of 
God that they are condemned^ but of them^elves^ even 
their own -wilfulness. They die^ because they will die. 
that isj because they iviil not Turn, 

IF you will go to hell, what remedy ? God here ac- 
quits himself of your blood ; it shall not lie on Aiw2 if you 
be lost. A negligent minister may draw it upon him- 
self; and those that encourage you, or hinder you not 
\n sin, may draw it upon themselves ; but be sure of it, 
it shill not lie upon God. The Lord says, concerning 
bis unprofitable vineyard, Isa. v. 3. 4. Judge I firay be- 
iTj'ixt me and my vintydrd. What could have been done 
ti. my vineyard., that I have not done in it ? What could 
he have done more ? He has made ycu men, and endu- 
ed you with reason; he has fufnished you with all ex- 
ernal necessaries, all creatures are at your service : he 
has given you a righteous, perfect law. When you had 
broken it, and undone yourselves he had pity on you, 
and sent his Son by a miracle of condescending mercy, 
to die for you, and be a sacrifice for your sins, and he 
r:as in Christy reconciling the world unto himself. The 
I.ord Jesus has made you a deed of gift of himself, and 
eternal life with him, on the condition you will butac- 
;jept it and return. He has on this reasonable condition 
offered you the free pirdon of all your sins ; he has 
written this in his w jrd, and scaled it by his Spirit, and 
sent it to you by his ministers : they have made the of- 
fer to you an hundred, and an hundred times, and called 
you to accept it and turn to God. They have in his 
name entreated you and reasoned the case with you, 
and answered all your frivolous objections. He hf*s 
long waited on you, and staid your leisure, and suffered 
you to abuse him to his face. He has mercifully sus- 
tained you in the midst of your sins : he has compassed 
ypu about with all sorts of mercies ; he has also inter- 
mixed afflictions to remind you of your folly, and call 
you to your senses : aod his Spirit has been often striv- 
ing with your hearts and saying, *' Turn sinner, turn to 
him that calls thee : Whither art thou going? What 



A Call to ihe U^~ c o ^' veeted. 1 7 i 

afl thou doing ? Dost thou know what will be the end ? 
How long^ wilt thou hate thy IVicnds and love thine ene- 
mies ? When wilt thou let go all andTurn, and deliver up 
thyselfto God, and give thy Redeemer the pcsseesicnot 
thy soul ? when shall it onec be ?" These pleadings have 
been used wiihthee. And when ihcuhust delaytdfhouhr.bt 
been urged to make haste, andGod has called to thee, To- 
day^ 'while it is called to-day^ harden not your heart : Uliy 
not now, without any more delay ? Life has been set before 
you ; the joys of heaven have been opened to you in the 
gosp-1 ; the certainly of them has been manifested : the 
certainty of the cverlasiing torments of the damned has 
been declared to you. Unless you would have had a. 
m'^ht of heaven and hell ^ wlrai could you have desired 
more ? Christ has been as it were, set forth crucified 
before your eyes. You have been a hundred tiku i 
told that you are but lost men till you come to him : ay 
often you have been told of the evilof si:i, of the vanity 
of sin, the world and all the pleasures and wealth it can 
afford ; of the shortness and uncertainty of your lives, 
and the endless duration of the joy or torment of the 
life to come. All this, and more than this have you been 
told, and told again ; and though all this has not con- 
verted you, yet you are alive, and might have mere/ 
this day .if you had but hearts to entertain it. And now- 
let reason itself be judge, whether it be the fault of 
God or you, if afier all this you will be unconverted and 
be damned ? If you die now, it isbeca\ise you will die. 
What could be said more to you ? Or what course can 
be taken that is likelier to prevail ? Are ) ou able to say, 
and mnke it good, '' We would fain h:ivebeen convert- 
ed. and become newcreatures,but we could not ; we would 
f.vin have forsaken our sins, but could not; we would" 
h:\ve changed our company, and our thoughts, and our 
discourse, but we could not.'* Why could you not if 
you would ? What hindered you but the wickedness ot 
your hearts ? Who forced you to sin ? or who held you 
l5ick from duty ? Did God put in any exceptions against 
you in his word, when he invited sinners to return ; and 
when* he promised mercy to those who do return?^ 
Did he say, I will pardon all that rejient except thee? 
Did he slfut^ou out from the liberty of his holy Wor- 



i'/:^ J Call to tile UNcoKVERTiib. 

ship ? Did he foibid you to pray to him any more lh«ii 
others? You know he did not. God did not drive you 
away from liini, but you ran away ycJurscIves. — And 
Avheu he called you to hinn,' you would not come. It" 
God had e^tcepted you out of the general promise and 
ofifer of mercy : or had said to you, " Stand off, I will 
have nothing to do with such as you ; if you repent ever 
so mucli, and cry for mercy ever so much, I will not re- 
fjardyou:*' Then you bad a fair excuse. You might 
have said, To what end shall I rcficnt a?id turUy 'when it 
-iVill do no good ? But this was not your cas.e. You might 
have? had Christ to be your Lord and Saviour, youT Heud 
and Husband as v/ell as others, and you ivould not) be- 
cause you felt net yourself sick enough for the physi- 
cian ; and because you could not spare your disease ; in 
your hearts you said as those rebels, Luke xix. 14. IVo 
rjill not have this man to reign over us. Christ wow/rf 
have gathered you under the wings of his salvation, and 
you ivould net. What desires of your 'welfare did the 
f^ord express in his holy word? With what compassion 
did he stand over you and say, *' O that my people had 
hearkened unto me, and that they had walked in my 
ways ! O that there v>'ere such a heart in this people, 
that they would fear me, ^jid keep all my command- 
ments al.vays, that it might be well with them, and with 
their children forever ! O that they were \vise, that they 
understood this, and that they would consider tl^pir lat- 
ter end I" He v.'ould have been your God, and done all 
for you that your souls could desire: but you loved the 
world and your flesh above him, and therefore you would 
not hearken io him: though you complimented \\\{\\ 
him, and gave him high tiiles, yet when it came to the 
closing, you ivould have none of 1dm. No marvel then, 
n He gave you uji to your o%vn hearths lusts, and you 
vjalked in your ow?i counsels. He condescends to reason, 
and pleads the case with you, and asks you. " What is 
iliere hi me or my service, that you should be so mucli 
against me ? What harm have I done thee sinner ? Have 
I deserved this unkind dealing at thy hand? Many mer- 
cies have I shewed thee : for which of them dost thou 
Thus despise me ? Is it I, or is it Satan that is thy enemy ? 
Is it I, or is It thyself that would undo thee ? Is it a he- 



A Call io the U^xokverteb. 173 

Jy life, or a life of sin which thou hast cause to fly from ?' 
If thou be undone, thou procures! this to thyself, by. 
forsaking me, the Lord that would have saved thee.'* 
** Do ye thus requite the Lord, O fooHsh people, and un- 
wise? Is he notthy Father that hath bought thee ? Hath 
he not made thee and established thee ? Deut. xxxii. 6. 
Whe^i he saw that you forsook him even for nothing, 
and turned away from your Lord, to hunt after the chaff 
and feathers of the world, he told you of your folly and 
called you to a more profitable employment, /sa. Iv. 2. 5, 
" Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not 
bread, and yofur labour for that which satisfieth not? 
Hearken diligently unto nie, and eat ye that which is 
good, and let your soul deliglit itself in fatness. Incline 
your ear, and come unto me : hear and your soul shall 
live ; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
even the sure mercies of David." And when you would 
not hear, what complaints have you put him to, charg- 
ing it on you as your wilfulness anti stubbornness I '* IJc 
astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid ; 
for my people have committed two evils: They have 
forsaken me the fountain of living waters:" And hew- 
ed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that will hold no 
water. Many a time has Christ proclaimed that free in- 
vitation to you, Rev. xxii. 17. Let hi in that :&■ athirst, come: 
and -iuhosoever ivill, let him take the waters of life freely. 
But you oblige him to complain afier all his offers^. 
They 'will not come to ?ne that they may have life-, John y, 
10. He has invited you to a feast with him in the king- 
dom of his grace ; and you have had excuses from your 
grounds, and your cattle, and your worldly business, rind 
when you would not come, you said you could not : and 
provoked him to resolve that you should never taste rf 
his sufifier. And whose fault is it now but your own ^ 
And what can you say is the chief cause of your dan;- 
nation, bat your own Wills ? you would be d':\nined. 
P2 



l?^ A Call to the UisCONverted. 

USE. 

, XT* ROM hence you may see, not only what blasphc- 
** J? my and impiety it is to lay the blame of mti^'s 
destruction upon God: but also how unfit these wicked 
wretches are to bring in such a charge against their ma- 
ker. They cry out against God, and say he gives them 
not grace, and histhreatenings are severe, and God for- 
bid that all should be damned that are not converted \ 
and they think it hard measure, that a short sin may hayc 
an endless sutfering : and if they be damned they Say 
they cannot help it : whfh in the mean time they are 
busy about their own destruction, even cutting the throat 
of their own souls, and will not be persuaded to hold 
their hands. They think God would be cruel if he 
should damn them : and yet they are so cruel to them- 
selves^ that they unll run into the lire of hell : when God 
has told them it is a little before them, and neither en- 
treaties, nor threatenings, nor any thing that can be said, 
\lill stop them. Vv e see them almost undone : their 
careless worlijy lives tell us that they are in the power 
of the Devil ; we know if they die before they are con- 
verted, all the world cannot save theni : and knowing 
.the uncertainty of their lives, we are afraid every day 
jest they fall into the fire. And therefore we entreat 
them to piiy their own souls, and not to undo themr,elves 
^hen mercy is at hand : and they will not hear us. We 
entreat ihem to cast away their sin, and to come to 
Christ without deUy, and to have sonae mercy on them- 
selves; but they will have none. And yet they think, that 
God must be cruel if he condemn them. O wilful, 
wretcbed sinners, it is not God that is cruel to you ; it is 
you that are cruel to yourselves. You are told that you 
must Turn^ or burn^ and yet you Turnnot. You are told 
ihat if yoQ will keep your sins, you shall keep the curse 
of God with them ; and yet you w?7/ keep them. You are 
cold that there is no way to ha/ifiiness^ but by /lolineasy and 
yet you will not be holy. Whi^t would you haveGod tosay 
more to you? What would you have him do with his 
mercy? He offers it you, and you will not nave it. — You 
are in the ditch of sin and misery, and he would give 
you his hand to help you out ?ind you rgfuse his help " 



A Call to the Unconverted. 175 

h^would cleanse you from your sins, and you %YCVild ra- 
ther keep them. Would you have him bring you to 
heaven whether you -will or no ? Or would you have him 
bring you and your sins to heaven together ? Why, that's 
an impossibility ; you may as well expect he should turn 
the sun into darkness. What 1 an unsanctified heart be 
in heaven ? It cannot be : There nothing entereth that 
is unclean, Rev. xxi. 27. " All the day long hath he 
stretched out his hands to a disobedient and gainsaying 
people." What will you do now ? Will you cry to God 
for niercy ? W'hy God calls upon rjcu to have mercy < 
upon yourselves, and you will not. Ministers sec the 
poisoned cup in the drunkard's hand, a^ul tell him, There 
is /loison in zV, and desire him to have intrcy en his scul, 
and forbear, and he nviU not hear us : drink it he must and 
v;iU: he loves it, and therefore though hell comes next, 
hd*says he cannot help, it. What should one say to such 
men as these ? We tell the ungodly, " It is not such a 
life that will serve the turn, or ever bring you to heaven. 
If a bear was at your back, you would mend your pace ; 
and when the curse of God is at your back, and Satan 
and hell are at your back, will you not stir, but ask, 
what needs all this ado ? Is an immortal soul of no more 
worth I O have mercy upon yourselves !" But they 
will have no mercy upon themselves. We tell them, 
the end will be bitter. Who can dwell with everlasting 
iire ? And yet they will have no mercy upon themselves. 
And will these shameless wretches say, that God is more 
merciful than to condemn them ? When it is themselves 
that cruelly run upon condemnation, and we cannot stop 
them. If we fall down on our knees to them, we can- 
not stop them; but to hell they iiill go, and yet will 
not believe that they are going thither. If we beg of 
them for the sake of God that made them, and preserves 
them : for the sake of Christ who died fcr tliem ; fc>r 
the sake of their own poor souls, to pity themselves, 
and go no further in the way to hell, but come to Christ 
while his arms are open, and enter into life while the 
door stands open, and now take mercy while mercy may 
be had ; they ivill not be persuaded. And yet they say, 
I hofie God 'ivill be merciful. Did you never consider 
TVhat he says, Is^, xx^ii. 1 K " It is a people of no un-; 



176 A Call lo the V^cc'sv'EiSiT'ED. 

•lerstanding ; therefore he that made them will not have- 
mercy on ihem ; and he that formed them will shew 
them no favour." If another man will not cloalhe you 
when you are naked, and feed you when you are hungry, 
you will say he is unmerciful. If he should cast you in- 
to prison, and beat and torment you, you would say he is 
unmerciful. And yet you will do a thousand times 
moreagiinst yourselves, even cast away both soul and 
body forever, and never complain of your own unmerci- 
fulness. Yea, and God, who waited upon you all the 
while with his mercy, must be taken to be unmerciful, 
if he punish you for all this. Unless the holy God of 
heaven will give these wretches liberty to trample upon 
his San*s blood, and do despite to the spirit of Grace, and 
set more lightly by saving mercy, than by the filth of 
their fleshly pleasures; and unless after this he will 
sa've them by the mercy which they cast away, Cfod 
himself must be called unmerciful. But he will be jus- 
tified when he judgeth ; and he will not stand or fall at 
the bar of a sinful worm. 

2. From hence^you may observe, 1. What a subtle" 
tempter Satan is. 2. What a deceitful thing sin is. 3. 
What a foolish creature currupted man is. ^ subtle 
tempter indeed^ that can persuade the giei. test part of 
ilie world to go wilfully into everlasting fire, when. they 
h;ive so many warnings and dissuasives. ji deceit/id 
thing is si?i indeed, that can bewitch 50 many thousands 
to p:\rt with everlasting life, for a thing so base, and ut- 
terly unworthy ! ^ fooliah creature is man, that will be 
cheated out of his salvation for nothing; y-ea, for a X72ow."« 
n^jthing ; and that by an enemy, and a known enemy.— 
You would think it impossible that any man should be 
persuaded for a little to cast himself into the fire, or 
water, to the destruction of his life : and yet men will 
be enticed to cast themselves into hell. If your natur- 
al lives were in your own hands, so that you should not 
die till you should kill yourselves, how long would most 
of you live ? and yet when your everlasting life is so 
far in your own hands, under God, that you cannot be 
undone till you undo yourselves, how few of you will for- 
bear your own undoing ? Ah I what a silly thing is man ? 
and what a bewitching and befooling thing is sin ? 



A Call to the Unconverted. 1 77 

Lastly : You may hence learn, that the greatest ene- 
my to man is himself; afld the {greatest judpjment in this 
life that can befal him, is" to be left to himself, and that 
the great work which grace has to do, is to save us from 
ourselves ; and the greatest cor, plaints of men should be 
, against themselves ; and the greatest work that we have 
to do ourselves, is to resist ourselves ; and the greatest 
enemy which we should daily pray, and watch, and strive 
agt\inst, is our own hearts and wills: and the greatest 
part of your work, if you will do good to others, and 
help them to heaven, is to save them from themselves, 
even from their own blind understandings, and corrupted 
wills, and perverse afieciions, and violent passions, and 
unruly senses ; I only name all these for brevity's Stike, 
and leave them to youf further consideration. 

Well, now we have found out the great murderer of 
souls, (even men's selves, their own wills) what remains 
but that you confess this great iniquity before the Lord 
and be humbled for it, and do so no more. To these 
three ends distinctly, I shall add a few' v/crds rr.ore. !. 
Further to convince you. 2. To humble you. And 3. 
To reform you. 

1. We know so much of the exceeding gracious na* 
ture of God^ who is willing to do good, and delights to 
shew mercy, that we have no reason to suspect fiim of 
being the cause of our death, or to cull him cruel. He 
made all good, and he preserves and maintains all : the 
eyes of all things wait upon him, and he gives them their 
meat in due season ; he opens his hand, and satisfies the 
desires of all the living. He is not only righteous in all 
/lis ivaysy (and therefore will deal justly) ar,d hcly in ell 
'iis ivorksi (and therefore not the author of sin) but He is 
.7L'io good to alls and Ms tender mercies are over- f: 11 hi s 
=:uDrks. 

But as for 7«a«, we know his mind is dark, his will is 
perverse, his affections carry him so headlong, that he 
is fitted by his folly and corruption to such a work as 
ihe destroying of himself. " Let no man say whien he 
is tempted, that he is tempted of God ; for God cannot 
be tempted with evil, neither tcmptcth he any man, fto 
dra=whim to sin) but every man is tempted, when he is 
drawn jiwav of hjs own lust, and enticed. Then when 



I'TS A Call to the Uxcoxverted. 

I'lst hath cone rived, itbringeth forth sin ; and sin, whcir 
it is finislied; biingeih forth death." You see here that 
sin is the br.it of your own concupiscence, and ihatdeatli 
13 theotfsprixTg of your own sin, and the fruit which it 
will yield you as soon as it is ripe. You have atreasure 
of evil in yourselves, us a spider hath of poison, from 
•.vhence you are bringinij forth hurt to yourselves, and 
spinning; such webs as entangle your own souls. 

2. It is evident that you are your own destroyers, in 
that you are so ready to entertain any temjuaticn that is 
offered. Satan is scarce readier to move you to any evil 
than you are ready to do as he would have you. If he 
would tempt your understanding to error and prejudice, 
you yield. If he would hinder yon from good resolu- 
tions, it is soon done. If he would kindle any vile af- 
fection or desire in you, it is soon done : if he would 
drive you on to evil thoughts, or deeds, you are so free, 
that he needs no spur ; if he would keep you from holy 
thoughts, and words, and ways, a little does ii, you need 
no curb. You examine not his suggestions, nor resist 
them with any resolution, nor cast them out as he 
casts theiTi in, nor quench the sparks which he endea- 
vours to kindle ; but set in with him, and meet him 
half way, and embrace his motions, and tempt him to 
tempt you. 

3. Your destruction is evidently owing to yourselves, 
in that you resist all who would help to save you. God 
would help and save you by his word, and you resist it ; 
it is too strict for you. He would sanctify you by his 
Spirit^ but you resist and quench it- If any man reprove 
you for your sin, you fly in his face ; if he tell you of 
your danger, you give him little thanks, but either bid 
him look to himself, or at best, put him off with heart- 
less thanks. 

4. Moreover, it is apparent, that you are self-destroy- 
ers, in that you draw the matter of your sin and destruc- 
tion even from the blessed God Idmself. You like not the 
contrivances of his wisdom ; you like not his justice, but 
take it for cruelty : you like not his holiness, but arc 
ready to think he is sucli a one as yourselves, Psal. i. 2 L 
and makes as light of sin as you : you like not his truth, 
but would have his thrcatenings, even his peix;n>ptory 



1 



A Call to ike UNCO^^ verted . 1 7 1^ 

Uireatenings prove false. And his goodness, which you 
seem most highly to approve, you partly resist, as it 
v%'ould lead you to repentance ; and partly abuse, to the 
strengthening of your sin, as if you might the mere 
freely sin, because God is merciful. 

5. Yea, youy<:*/cA deatructioJi from the blessed Redeem- 
er^ and death from the Lord of life himself. Nothing more 
emboldens you in sin, than that Christ has died for you j 
as if now the danger of death were over, and you might 
boldly venture: as if Christ were become a servant to 
Satan, and must wait upon you while you are abusing 
him. And because he is become the Physicion of souls, 
and is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God 
by him ; you think he must save you whether you will 
come to God by him or no. So that a great part of 
your sins are occasioned by your bold presumption upon 
the death of Christ. 

6 He gives many blessings to you as the tokens of his 
love and furniture for his service, and you turn them 
against him to the pleasing of your flesh. You cat and 
drink to please your appetite, and not for the glory of 
God. Your clothes you abuse to pride. Your riches 
draw your hearts from heaven. Your honours and ap- 
plause puff you up. If you have health and strength, 
it makes you more secure. Yea, other men's mercies 
are abused by you to your hurt. If you see their hon- 
ours and dignity, you are provoked to envy them. If 
you see their riches, you are ready to covet them. If 
you look upon beauty you are stirred up to lust. And 
it is well if godliness be not an eye-sore to you. 

7. The very g-/fts "which God bestows on you, and the 
ordinances of grace, you turn to sin. If you have better 
parts than others, you grow proud and self-conceited. 
You take the bare hearing of your duty for so good a 
work,as will excHse you from not obeying it. Your pray- 
ers are turned into sin, because you regard imquify in 
yourheartS) Psa. Ixvi. 18, and defiart not from iniquity^ 
xuhen you chll on the name ofihe Lord. Yonv prayers are 
abominable^ because you turn am'ay your ear from hearing' 
the /aw, Prov. xxviii 9. And are more ready to offer 
the sacrifice of fools, (thinking you do God some special 
service) than to hear his word, and obey it; Eccl^. v. \ ■ 



180 A Call to the Ukconverteij. 

And thus I might shew you in many other cases, how 
you turn all that comes near you to your own destruc- 
tion ; so clear is it that the ungodly are self-destroyers, 
and that their perdition is of themselves. 

Methinks, now, upon the consideration of what i^ said, 
and the review of your own ways, you. should consider 
what you have done, and be ashamed and deeply hum- 
bled. If you be not, I pray you consider these follow- 
ing truths. 

1. To be your own destroyers, is to sin against the 
deepest principlejin your natures, even the principle of 
self-preservation. Every thing naturally desires its own 
welfare or perfection. And will you set yourselves to 
your own destruction ? When you are commanded to 
lOve your neighbours as yourselves, it is supposed that 
you naturally love yourselves : but if you love your 
neighbours no better than yourselves,itseems you would 
have all the world damned. 

2. How extremely do you cross your own intentions ? 
I know you intend not your own damnation, even when 
you are procuring it ; you think you are but doing good 
xo yourselves, by gratifying the desires of your flesh. 
But alas ! it is as a draught of cold water in a burning 
fever, which increases the disease. If indeed you would 
have pleasure, profit, or honour, seek them where they 
are to be found, not in the way to hell. ' 

3. What pity is it that you should do that against 
yourselves, which none else in earth or hell can do. If 
all the world were combined against you, or all the de- 
vils in hell, they could not destroy you without your- 
selves. And will ydU do that against yourselves, which 
no one else can do ! You have hateful thoughts of the 
devil, because he is your enemy, and endeavours your 
destruction. And will you be worse than devils to your- 
selves ? But thus it is with you when you run into sin, 
and refuse to turn at the call of God ; you do more a- 
gainst your own souls, tli^n men or devils could do be- 
side. And if you should set yourselves to do yourselves 
the greatest mischief, you could not devise a greater. 

4. It will everlastingly make you your own tormen- 
tors in hell, to think that you brought yourselves wilfully 
to that misery. O what a griping thought it will be to 



A Call io the Unconverted. 18' 

think with yourselves, That this was your own doingj ! 
That you were warned of this day, and wa-ned againj 
but it would not do: that you wilfullj^ sinned, and 
wilfully turned away frojo God : you had time as well 
as others, but you abused it : you had teachers as well 
as others, but you refused their instrucliims : you had 
holy examples but you did not imitate them : you were 
offered Christ, and grace, and glory, as well as others, 
but you preferred your fleshly pleasure : you had a 
price in your hands, but you had not a heart to lay it 
out. tan it choose but torment you to think of this 
your folly ? O that your eyes were opened to see what 
you have done in the wilful wronging of your own 
souls 1 and that you better understand these words of 
Godt Pro\). viii. 33, 34, 35, 36. " Hear instruction and 
be wise, and refuse it hot. Blessed is the man that 
heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the 
posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, 
and shall obtain the favour of the Lord. But he that 
sinneth against me, wrongeth his own s©ul : all they 
that hate me, love* death." 

CONCLUSION. 

AND now I am come to the conclusion of this worki 
my heart is troubled to think how I shall leave 
you : lest, after this, the flesh should still deceive yoil, 
and the world and the devil should keep you asleep, and 
I should leave you as I found you, till you awake in hell. 
Dear friends ! I am so lothe you should lie in everlasting 
fire, that I once rn ore ask you what you resolve on ? 
Will you turn, or die ? As far as you are gone in sin, do 
but now turn and come to Christ, and your souls shall 
live. If it were your bodies which we had to deal with 
we might know what to do for you. TJiough you would 
not consent, you might be held or bound, while the 
liiedicine was poured down your throats, and hurtful 
things might be kept from you. But about your souls 
It cannot be so : we cannot convert you against your willso 
There is no carrying mad-men to heaven in fetters. You 
may be condemned agaimt xjour mils because you sinned 

Q 



iS2 A Call to the Unconvested. 

ivif/i your tvills : but you cannot be saved against your 
willfi. The wisdom of God has thought meet to lay 
man's salvation or destruction exceeding much upon the 
choice of his own will : that no man shall go to heaven 
vfho chooses not the way to heaven : and no man shall 
j^o to hell, but shall be forced to say, I have the thing I 
choose ; my ownivill did bring me here. Now if 1 could 
but get you to be willing, to be thoroughly and resolutely 
ivilling, the work were more than half done. And, 
alas ! must we lose owvfriends^ and must they lose their 
God<t their, happiness^ their soulsy for want oj' this I I do 
again beseech you, as if it wei'e on my bended knees, 
that you would hearken to your Redeemer, and Turn, 
that you may live. All you that have lived in ignorance, 
carelessness, and presumption, to this day : all you that 
have been drowned in the cares of the world, and have 
110 desire after God, and eternal glory ; all you that are 
enslaved to your fleshly desires, ef meats, and drinks, 
sports, and lusts : and all you that know not the neces- 
sity of holiness, and never were acquitted with the sanc- 
tifying work of the Holy Ghost upon your souls ; that 
never embraced your blessed Redeemer by a living faith, 
and with admiring and thankful apprehensions of his 
love, and that never felt a higher es#mation of God and 
heaven, and a heartier love to them, than to the things 
below : I earnestly beseech you, not only for my sake, 
but for the Lord*s sake^ and for your soul's sake, that 
you go not one day longer in your present condition ; 
but look about you, and cry to God for converting 
grace, that you may escape the plagues which are be- 
fore you. Deny me any thing that ever I shall ask you 
for myself, if you will but grant me this. Nay, as ever 
as you will do any thing at the request of the Lord that 
made you and redeemed you, deny him not thjs : for if 
you deny him this, he cares for nothing that you shall 
grant him. As ever you would have him hear your 
prayers, and grant your requests, and bless you at the 
hour of death, and day of judgment, deny not his re- 
quest now in the day of your pi^osperity. O believe it, 
death and judgment, and heaven and hell, are other 
matters when you come near them, than they s^en: 
afar off. 



1 



^ ^rt//^o if/?^ Unconverted. 183 

Well, I hope that some of you are by this time pur- 
posing to turn and live : and that you are ready to ask . 
me, as the Jews did Peter, when they were pricked in 
their hearts, What shall we do ? How may we conie to* 
be truly converted ? We are willing^ {f ii>c did but know 
our duty. God forbid that we should chuse destruction^ 
by refusing conversion^ as hitherto we have done. 

If these be the purposes of your hearts, I say of you 
as God did of a promising people, Deut. v. 28, 29, 
" They have well said, all that they have spoken. O 
that there were such a heart in them, that they would 
fear me, and keep all my commandments always 1" — 
Your purposes are good : O that there were but a heart 
in you to perform these purposes ! And, in hope there- 
of, I shall gladly give you direction what to do; and 
that but briefly, that you may the easier remember it 
for your practice. 

DIRECTION I. 

IF you would be converted and saved, labour to tinder^ 
stand the necessity and nature of conversion. 

Consider what a lamentable condition you are in till 
your conversion, that you may see it is not a state to be 
rested in. You are under the guilt of all the sins that 
ever you committed ; and under the wrath of God. and 
the curse of his law : you are bound slaves to the devi], 
and daily employed in his work, against the Lord, your- 
selves, and others: you are spiritually dead, as being 
void of the holy life, and nature, and image of the Lord, 
You are unfit for any holy work^ and do nothing that is 
truly pleasing to God. You are without any promise 
or assurance of his protection, and live in continual dan- 
ger of his justice, not knowing what hour you may be 
snatched away to hell : and most certain to be damned, 
if you die in that condition. And nothing short of con- 
version can prevent it Whatever amendments are shoit 
of true conversion, will never procure the saving of your 
souls. Keep the true sense of this natural misery, nnt! 
of the necessity of conversion on your hearts. And the; 



1 84 A Call to the Unconv ERifi p. 

yqu must understand what it is to be converted : it is to 
have a new heart, or disposition, and a new conversation. 

Quest. For ivhat must ive turn ? 
^ .dri.nv. For these ends foHovVing, which you may at- 
tain ; you shall hereby be made living members ofChrist, 
and have an interest in him, and be renewed alter the 
image of God, quickened with a new and heavenly life, 
and saved from the tyranny of Satan, and the dominion 
of sin, and be justified from the curse of the law, and 
have the pardon ofatlthe sins of your whole lives, and 
be accepted of God, arid made his sons, and have liberty 
with boldness to Cv^ll him Father, and go to him by 
prayer in all your wants, with a promise of acceptance; 
you shall liave the Holy Ghost to d^Vell in you, to sanc- 
tify and guide you : you shall have part in the commu- 
nion and prayers of the saints : you shall be fitted for 
God's service ; and shall have the promise of this life, 
and that which is to come. • 

And, at death, your souls shall go to Christ; and at 
the day of judgment both soul and body shall be justifi« 
cd and enter into your Master's joy. 

All this the poorest beggar of you that is converleji 
shuU certiunly and endlessly enjoy. - 



DIRECTION II. 

IF you will be converted and saved, be much in secret^ 
serious consideration, hiconsiderateness undoes the 
world. Withdraw yourselves often into secrecy, and 
meditate on the end for which you were made ; on the 
life you have lived, the time you have lost, the sins you 
have committed ; on the love and sufferings and fulness 
of Christ , on the danger you are in ; or the nearness 
of death and judgment ; and on the certainty and excel- 
lency of the joys of heaven ; and on the certainty and 
terror of the torments of hell, and eternity of both ; and 
on the neccssitv of conversion and a holy life. 



A Call to tiie Unconvertet). 185 



DIRECTION III. 

IF you wilfbe eon verted and saved, a^^ewd ufion the ivord * 
of God, which is the ordinary means. Read the scrip 
ture, or hear it read, and other holy writings, which do 
apply it, constantly : and attend on the public prcachint^ 
of the word. As God will lighten the world by the sun, 
and not by himself alone without it : so will he convert 
and save men by his ministers, who are the lights of the 
world. When he has miraculously hunibled Paul, he 
sends Ananias to him, Acts ix. 10. and when he has sent 
an angel to Cornelius, it is but to bid him send for Peter, 
who must tell him what he is to believe and do. 

DIRECTION IV. 

JDETAKE yourselves to God in a course of earnest, con- 
stant firayer. Confess'Und lament your former lives 
and beg his grace to illuminate and convert you. Be- 
seech him to pardon what is past, and to give you his 
spirit and change your hearts and lives ; and lead you 
in his ways, and save you from temptation. And ply 
this work daily, and be not weary of it. 

DIRECTION V. 

pRESEJVTLY give over your knoivn and wilful sins > 
Make a stand, and go that ivay no further. Be drunk 
no more ; but avoid the place and occasion of it. Cast 
away your lusts and sinful pleasures with detestation. 
Curse and swear and rail no more ; and if you hme 
wronged any, restore as Zacheus did. If you will com- 
mit again your old sins, what blessing can you expect 
on the means for conversion. 

DIRECTION VI. 

pRESEJVTLY if fiossible, change your comfiany. Not 
by forsaking your necessary relations, but your \iii- 
Q 2 ' : 



i 8(i A Call to the UnconvertBd. 

necessary and sinful companions ; and join yourselves 

with l/iose that fear the Lord. 



DIRECTION VII. 



D 



ELIVER ufi yourselves to the Lord Jeaiia as the phy- 
sician of your soids^ that he may pardon you by hit 
blood, and sanctify you by his spirit, by his word and 
ministers, the instruments of his spirit. He is the Way, 
the Truth, and the Life ; there is no coming to the Fa- 
ther but by him, John xiv. 6. Nor is there any other 
name under heaven, by which you can be saved, v'fc/* iv. 
12. Study therefore his person and nature, and what he 
has done and suft'cred for you, and what he is to you ; 
and what he will be ; and how he is fitted to the full sup- 
ply of all your necessities. 

DIRECTION VIII. 

TF you mean, indeed, to turn and live, do it without de- 
^ lay. If you be n«^ willing to turn to-day, you are 
net willing to do it at all. Remember you are all this 
while in your blood ; under the guilt of many thousand 
sins, and under God's wrath, and you stand at the very 
brink of heil ; there is but a step between you and death. 
And this is not a case for a man to be quiet in. Up 
therefore presently ; and fly for your lives ; as you would 
be gone out of your house, if it were all on fire over 
your head. O, if you did but know what danger you 
live in, and what daily unspeakable loss you do sustain, 
and what a safer and sweeter life you might live, you 
would not stand trifling, but presently turn. Multitudes 
miscarry who v^ilfully delay, when they are convinced 
that it must be done. Your lives are short and uncer- 
tain ; and what a case are you in, if you die before you 
thoroughly turn ? You have staid too long already ; and 
wronged God too lonprj sin gets strength and rooting, 
while you delay. Your conversion will grow more hard 
and doubtful. You have much to do, and therefore put 
not all off to the last, lest God forsake you, and giveyo?a 
■ \p to yourselves, and then you are undone for ever. 



A Call to the Ukconyerted. 187 



DIRECTION IX. 

TF you will turn and live, do it unrestrvedly^ ahsolutelyy 
"■■ and imiversally. Think not to capitulate with Christ, 
and divide your heart betwixt him and the world ; and 
to part with some sins, and keep the rest. This is but 
self-deluding ; you must forsake all you have, or else 
you cannot be his disciples, Xt/X"e xiv. 26,33. If you 
will not take God and heaven for your portion, and lay 
all below at the feet of Christ, but must needs also have 
your good things here, and have an earthly portion, and 
God and glory is not enough for you ; it is in vain to 
dream of salvation on these terms; {oYiiivill not be. If 
you seem ever so religious, if yet it be but outside right- 
eousiie^, this is as certain a way to death, as open pro- 
faneness, though it be plausible. 

DIRECTION X. 

T F you will turn and live, do it resolvedly^ and stand not 
■■■ still deliberating, as if it were a doubtful case. Stand 
not wavering, as if you were yet uncertain, whether God 
or the flesh be the better master ; or whether heaven or 
hell be the belter end : or whether sin or holiness be the 
belter way. But away with your former lusts, and pre- 
sently, habitually, fixedly rssolve : be not one day of 
one mind, and the next of another, but be at a point with 
all the world, and resolvedly give up yourselves, and all 
you have, to God. Now, while you are reading or hear- 
ing this, resolve. Before you sleep another night, re- 
solve. Before y^ou stir from this place, resolve. Before 
Satan have time to take you off, resolve. You never 
will turn indeed, till you do resolve ; and that with a 
firm and unchangeable resolution. 

And now \ have done my part in this work, that you 
may turn at tne call of God and live. What will become 
of it, I cannot tell. I have cast the seed at God's com- 
mand : but it is not in my power to give the increase. 
I can go no further with my message : I cannot bring it 
to your heart, or make it work ; I cannot do your parts" 



188 A Call to the Unconverted. 

for you^ to entertain it : I cannot do God** part by open- 
ing; your heart to cause you to entertain it ; nor can I 
shew you heaven or hell to your eye-sight, nor give you 
new and tender hearts. 

But^ thou that art the gracious Father of SfiiritSy 
thou hast sworn thou delightest not in the death of the 
ivickcdy but rather that they turn and live ; deny not thy 
blessings to these persuasions and directions^ and suffer 
not their ene?nies to trium/ih in thy sights and the great 
deceiver of souls to prevail against thy Son, thy Spirit, 
and thy Word. O pity poor unconverted sinners^ that 
have no heart to pity or help themselves : command the 
blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dead to live, and 
let not sin and death be able to resist thee. Awake the 
secure : resolve the unresolved : confirm the nvgvering ; 
and let the eyes of sinners that read these lines, be next 
employed in weeping over their sins ; and bring them to 
themselves, and to thy Son^ before their sin have brought 
them to perdition. If thou say but the word, these poor 
endeavours shall prosper to the winning of many a soul to 
(heir everlasting Joy, and thine everlasting Glory, Ameni 



F L N 1 S.. 



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the Methodist Ministers and Preachers in 
their several Circuits, 

Methodist Hymns, in two books, bound togeth^ 

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other two volumes now in the press. 
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